Raphael Tshimanga
Country (Nationality)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Grantee Title
Project Title: Developing a framework of catchments classification for hydrological predictions and water resources management in ungauged basin of the Congo River
Grantee Description
Host Organisation: Universite de Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of Congo
Summary
The Congo basin provides multiple goods and services that include hydro-power, water supply, fisheries, agriculture, transportation, and maintenance of aquatic ecosystems, all of which attract multiple (post-conflict) large scale investment projects. Beside these potentials offered by the basin, a challenge remains undaunted, that of a critical lack of reliable information to enable rational planning and wise decisions on how best to invest funds on post-war reconstruction and ensure climate resilient development in the basin. Water resources management needs in the Congo basin include the quantification of current and future supplies and demands that encompass the impacts of future changes associated with climate and land use, but it is difficult to achieve these needs in the absence of reliable information over appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Catchment classification systems are therefore critical to understanding water resource processes, structures and functions, and to enable management and conservation strategies. The main objective of this study is to develop a framework of catchment classification for the Congo River basin necessary to enable guidance for water resources planning and management practices. The impact of such a framework is wide as it will contribute to the implementation of many other projects of water resources planning and development whose feasibility has been challenged by a lack of adequate baseline information. It will also contribute to efficiency of investments for water resources development, avoid redundancy of actions and maximise socio-economic benefit.