China-Africa cooperation vital to tackle global water scarcity, expert says

The growing cooperation between China and Africa may offer a promising solution to tackle the possible water scarcity that may occur in the mid-21st century in Africa, according to an expert.

Sharing his views on the China-Africa partnership for global water scarcity, Liu Junguo, president of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, or NCWU, said China has accumulated rich experience in addressing water scarcity, which holds significant value for the African region.

In his academic paper titled Timing the First Emergence and Disappearance of Global Water Scarcity, which was published in Nature Communications in August, Liu assessed the first occurrence and potential disappearance time of water scarcity worldwide after a detailed analysis of global water resources from 1901 to 2090.

The results showed that Asia and Africa are the main regions where water scarcity first emerges, with China expected to be one of the few countries where water scarcity gradually eases after 2050. However, by the mid-21st century, Africa is projected to become a major region where water scarcity emerges, particularly in East and West Africa.

The research utilized six global hydrological models and various climate and population scenarios to analyze the historical and future trends of global water scarcity. The findings reveal that global water scarcity, primarily driven by population growth and concentrated in regions such as China, India and East Africa, has been worsening since the 1930s.