Building Water Resilience: How Evaluation Evidence is Shaping Africa's Climate Adaptation Frontline
Joseph Mouanda and Alba Serna discussed how evaluation evidence can strengthen water resilience in Africa. The session treated reliable water as a foundation for health, food systems, energy, cities, ecosystems, and livelihoods. It asked how evidence can distinguish routine water investment from interventions that are genuinely resilient to climate change. The examples combined evaluation findings with operational monitoring and national planning experience. Tunisia's Water Strategy 2050 drew on computational analysis, stakeholder consultation, and multiple climate and development scenarios.
10 November 2025 | 10:45 GMT-3 to 11:15 GMT-3 | Belém, Brazil
At Egypt's Gabal El Asfar wastewater plant, evidence from earlier phases informed the design of later phases. The later work combined water recycling, agricultural use, ecosystem development, and renewable energy from digesters. An integrated rural-sanitation programme in Upper Egypt paired infrastructure with annual performance assessments of water-utility services. Mouanda argued that evaluation should explain why an intervention works before decision-makers attempt to scale it elsewhere. He also called for systemic theories of change that reflect interactions among people, behaviour, infrastructure, institutions, and the environment. Serna emphasized partnerships across government, civil society, ministries, countries, and transboundary institutions. She noted that many shared African water resources still lack agreements designed for future climate conditions. The discussion highlighted early climate-risk screening, capable utilities, sanitation systems, and integrated water-food-energy-ecosystem planning. It also stressed that local knowledge is necessary to adapt technical approaches to specific settings. Joint evaluations and evidence sharing among development partners were presented as ways to improve learning across financed interventions. The session's main climate-action lesson was that adaptation planning begins with securing water while accounting for future drought, flooding, and variability.