Cross-Border Water Resources Management in the Horn of Africa:

Cross-border water resources management in the Horn of Africa: Digital platforms for collaboration and decision-making This brief is part of a series of knowledge briefs on “Cross-border water resources management in the Horn of Africa”: 1. [...] The work supports the UN’s five-year Comprehensive Regional Prevention Strategy for the Horn of Africa (2019- 2023), in particular Pillar 4 on sustainable natural resources development and climate resilience. [...] The following is a general summary of the status of the digital platform and institutional landscape: Digital Platforms 1. [...] Over the past two decades, many digital platforms for data and information management related to natural resources and climate change have been developed in the region. [...] Many of the digital platforms are constructed like ‘libraries’ of maps and figures. While this is helpful in some contexts, they do not have the capacity to combine and use the information in a more integrated manner. 3. [...] There are existing regional, cross-border and national institutions that have the potential to manage, operate and use a regional and/or cross-border water resources digital platform. [...] There are dozens of portals, tools, and datasets that, when viewed together, can give a complete picture to inform cross-border water management strategies. However, none of these present the data and information in an integrated format to truly serve as a foundation for shared understanding. [...] Below is a selected list of digital platforms with a description of their strengths and limitations, including their ability to incorporate projections, ability to present an integrated picture or analysis of multiple factors, and associated institutional considerations. Some are used in the Horn already, while others have potential for application in the region. [...] The setup for the portal is similar to the IGAD Spatial Web Portal, in that it is a library of data and maps and does not appear to include time series data or analysis functionality. [...] All countries in the region are members of NBI, with the exception of Somalia and Djibouti (Eritrea is an observer).