Nearly one-third of all water-related disasters occur in Africa. The second issue of Joto Afrika considers the relationship between climate change, the greater incidence of extreme weather events, such as drought and flooding, and the increasing scarcity of water on the African continent. The briefing presents the following six articles and case studies, which reflect on experiences from different countries and regions:

Building sand dams to conserve water 
Conserving water through planting trees 
Managing water resources in the IGAD Region 
Climate change in Uganda 
Joint management of a Transboundary Saharan Aquifer System 
Managing climate risk in South Africa’s Western Cape.

The contributions highlight the following lessons:

current water management practices are not adequate to cope with the projected impacts of climate change on water availability and distribution
African countries need to focus on increasing people’s adaptive capacity to climate variability and climate change
the incorporation of current climate variability with water-related planning and management is key for improving adaptation efforts.

Joto Afrika, Swahili for ‘Africa is feeling the heat', is a new series of briefings and online resources about adapting to climate change in Africa. It is produced by the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) in Kenya in partnership with AfricaAdapt and IDS Knowledge Services.