The availability of water affects most aspects of a country’s economic functioning and human wellbeing. This includes food production, health, energy services, domestic water supply and sanitation, industrial, environmental and aesthetic uses.
The impacts of climate change on water resource systems depend to some extent on the status of local conditions. This means that the level of socioeconomic development determines sensitivity to climate impacts.
RECOMMENDED CITATION Pegram, G., von der Heyden, C., and Chapman, R.A. 2011, Transboundary Water: Climate change and development impacts on Southern African water resources: A synthesis. For the Regional Climate Change Programme for southern Africa (RCCP), UK Department for International Development (DFID). OneWorld Sustainable Investments, Cape Town.
