Water: Africa’s Greatest Untapped Asset – Why NDC 3.0 Must Prioritize Water Action Now

We Monitor Everything—Except What Matters Most

Surveillance is everywhere.

Governments track economies, health, traffic, and even personal conversations. A global industry worth $150 billion ensures that almost everything is monitored, analyzed, and controlled.

Except for water.

The very element that sustains life—our food, air, and health—remains largely unmonitored.

Africa is investing in surveillance too. Just 10% of countries on the continent spend over $1 billion on surveillance technologies. Yet, there is no equivalent urgency for tracking water quality, access, or scarcity.

And the consequences are dire.

The Stark Reality: Water Monitoring is Failing Africa

→ 75% of all monitored water bodies are in high-GDP countries, while only 1% are in the lowest 20 GDP nations.

→ The poorest 50% of the world contributes less than 3% of global water quality data points.

→ Only 2.5% of the world’s water is freshwater, and less than 1% of that is accessible.

Africa’s Water Crisis is Escalating

→ One in three Africans faces water scarcity.

→ 230 million Africans experience climate-induced water shortages.

→ 460 million people already live in areas where water demand exceeds available supply.

The problem isn't just scarcity. It’s unmonitored contamination.

For example, in Cameroon, the Wouri Estuary has experienced severe water contamination due to unmonitored industrial discharge and agricultural runoff. Local communities have reported declining fish yields and increasing health issues, with heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants affecting water quality.

The culprit? Pollution from electroplating, oil refining, and pesticide-laden runoff seeping into the estuary.

Without water data, local governments had no early warning, leaving both human health and food production at risk.

We measure phone calls. We track stock markets. We monitor global trade in real time.

Yet, the lack of serious water monitoring is leading to lost lives, economic stagnation, and worsening climate disasters.

What gets measured, gets done. But in Africa, water remains largely unmeasured.

Africa’s SDG Progress is Stalling—Water Can Fix It

The world is running out of time to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The numbers are alarming:

→ Only 17% of targets are on track.

→ 50% show minimal to moderate progress.

→ Over one-third have stalled or regressed.

Africa is even further behind. Despite 90% of African countries incorporating SDGs into national plans, fewer than 6% of measurable targets are on track for 2030.

Yet, water action is the missing link to unlocking multiple SDGs:

→ SDG 1 & 3 – Clean water improves hygiene, reducing sickness and boosting productivity.

→ SDG 2 – Agriculture consumes over 70% of freshwater, making water security essential for food production.

→ SDG 4 – Schools with clean water and sanitation increase attendance and improve education outcomes.

→ SDG 7 – Energy production relies on water resources for generation and cooling.

→ SDG 13 – Climate resilience starts with securing water ecosystems.

Africa cannot afford to treat water as an afterthought. It must be central to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 3.0—the next phase of climate action that can drive real economic transformation.

Five Transformative Actions for Water-Centered NDCs 3.0

1. From Fragmented Monitoring to an Integrated Water Data Approach

Africa’s water monitoring is incomplete.

More than 29 million data points have been collected from 21,000 stations across over 90 countries; however, the analysis is limited to the midstream state of water quality.

→ However, such data only provides half the story because it does not reflect upstream risk sources and causes that impact water quality. Doing so would create opportunities for water action to unlock multiple SDGs.

→ Key upstream risks—fertilizer runoff, industrial pollution, and deforestation—remain largely untracked.

→ Decision-makers lack real-time insights to prevent pollution and water depletion before it escalates.

Solution: Expand data collection beyond midstream monitoring to include satellite imaging, AI-driven risk assessment, and predictive analytics.

Impact: Upstream intervention prevents downstream disasters, saving billions in mitigation costs.

For example, addressing nutrient enrichment, e.g., through fertiliser recovery from farms, means driving circularity – SDG 12- and addressing eutrophication, thus preserving aquatic ecosystems – SDG 14. At the same time, it prevents nitrous oxide emissions, which are responsible for up to 11% of global warming by greenhouse gases – SDG 13.

2. Align Water Investments with Climate Action in NDCs 3.0

The 3rd iteration of countries' nationally determined contributions (NDCs) promises to be transformational by taking an economy-wide approach.

In Africa and across the globe, the escalating climate change has seen periods of intense rainfall and flooding, followed by drought.

→ Between 1970 and 2019, floods and droughts cost African economies over $38.5 billion.

→ However, flooding solutions, e.g., simple green design aspects like rainwater harvesting, can save up to $240 per year in small establishments.

→ In Seychelles, rainwater harvesting from school roof catchments resulted in savings of up to $250 in monthly water bills per school.

→ African cities could save up to 23 million cubic meters of floodwater—enough to sustain communities during droughts.

Solution: Integrate climate early warning systems into water investment strategies, ensuring that every flood event leads to freshwater storage.

Impact: Strengthened water resilience protects businesses, agriculture, and households from climate extremes.

→ For example, early warning data predicting intense rainfall in an area should be used to inform water investment planning for green solutions such as rainwater harvesting to be instituted.

→ In Seychelles, the success of rainwater harvesting resulted in the integration of rainwater harvesting into building codes, a practical measure to ensure the expansion of this infrastructure alongside building investments.

→ Considering that the building/construction sector is one of the fastest growing in Africa, at over 5%, such a policy informed by robust early warning services will ensure that rainwater harvesting solutions investments grow in tandem.

→ Such an economy-wide stance should be prioritised in the formation of NDCs 3.0. ???

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3. Leverage AI ?technologies to enhance integrated monitoring effectiveness for Flood Prevention and Water Security

Floods in Africa are made worse by plastic waste clogging drainage systems.

→ 218 million people are at risk due to plastic-aggravated flooding.

→ The world consumes 460 million tons of plastic annually, which is projected to triple by 2060.

→ For example, Cameroon generates 600,000 tonnes of plastic annually, but only 20% is recycled.

→ As a result, plastic aggravated flooding has become a notable problem in cities like Douala and the capital, Yaoundé.

Solution: AI-powered waste mapping can track, classify, and predict plastic waste accumulation, enabling municipalities to prioritize flood prevention efforts.

Impact: Reducing plastic blockages lowers flood risks and creates new jobs in waste collection and recycling.

For example, tech-savvy young people Juveline Ngum leveraging the spirit of Innovative Volunteerism, where they retool their skills to turn their passions into profits in turning environmental challenges into opportunities, have taken to A.I and drones to help inform accurate municipal waste decisions for optimal deployment of limited resources to address plastic in flood-prone areas.

→ A combination of drone and satellite images are fed into an A.I algorithm that identifies and classifies plastic waste near storm water drainage infrastructure.

→This data is then analysed and relayed to municipalities to prioritise the allocation of waste collection resources in these flood-prone areas identified by A.I analyses and thus is lowering flooding risk.

4. Mobilizing Africa’s Informal Sector for Water Solutions

Africa’s informal sector accounts for over 80% of employment—a massive untapped resource for water action.

→ AI-monitored risk zones can direct waste pickers to high-risk plastic collection areas.

→ Recyclers can purchase recovered plastics, creating new economic opportunities.

→ Community-led data collection can enhance real-time water monitoring, filling data gaps at a fraction of the cost of traditional monitoring.

Solution: Design incentive-based programs for informal workers to engage in plastic recovery and water conservation.

Impact: Aligning economic incentives with water security ensures sustainability while creating livelihoods.

5. Leverage the UN Country Structure to Scale Water Monitoring Solutions

?The UN has an elaborate structure of identifying and supporting member states to bridge priority gaps towards the realisation of the SDGs. Through Common Country Analysis (CCAs), countries are supported to establish gaps that need to be bridged for SDGs. Water monitoring data can provide a catalytic strategy for establishing gaps and closing them.

→ For example, data on water quality parameters like nutrient loading, pathogens, etc., would be an indicator of upstream risk gaps in waste, food systems, etc. It would also be an indicator of additional risks in health, climate emissions, and aquatic ecosystems among key ones.

→ Through the UN Country Teams structure, different agencies engaged in these areas – i.e., food, health, environment, etc.- would be convened for collaborative actions in investigating these risks further and prioritising relevant environmental solutions such as waste circularity and nutrient recovery among key ones in the country cooperation frameworks.

→ In this way, we will have work done under SDG 6, simultaneously catalysing actions for SDGs 2, 3, 7, 12, 13, and 14 among key ones.

Water is Africa’s most undervalued economic asset. Without urgent action, scarcity will escalate, economies will suffer, and climate resilience will weaken.

NDCs 3.0 present a pivotal opportunity to:

→ Secure water resources before crisis levels are reached.

→ Unlock trillions in economic potential by preventing water-related losses.

→ Fast-track SDG achievement while strengthening climate adaptation.

Your Move: What Can You Do Today?

Water security is not just an environmental issue—it is an economic and social imperative.

How should African leaders rethink water monitoring to drive real impact?

Let’s shape the future together. The time to act is now.