Building Climate Resilience through Virtual Water and Nexus Thinking in the Southern African Development Community

Book excerpt: This book puts the spotlight on Southern Africa, presenting a cutting-edge concept never previously explored in the context of climate change and putting forward arguments for regional integration and cooperation. The Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) is the new water infrastructure program of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for Southern Africa. The CRIDF promotes the establishment of small to medium-scale infrastructure across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through technical assistance aimed at developing sustainable pro-poor projects, while also facilitating access to the financial resources needed to deliver said infrastructure. Further, it focuses on regional water resource management goals and basin plans, as well as on building climate resilience for the beneficiary communities. The Facility’s Virtual Water and Nexus Project works to improve regional peace dividends by translating the Nexus concept into national and regional policies; it ultimately promotes sovereign security through greater regional integration across the water, food and energy sectors, while taking into account potential benefits in connection with carbon sequestration and emission mitigation.