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

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.