Strengthening climate resilience of water resources and supply in Southern Madagascar

The project aims to mitigate the impacts of increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall in Southern Madagascar, which have led to frequent droughts and food insecurity. It proposes a paradigm shift from focusing solely on water supply infrastructure to adapting the underlying water resources system. Key strategies include managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to store wet season surpluses, expanding hydro-meteorological monitoring networks, and developing community-based drought adaptation plans. The project targets 24 communes with approximately 553,240 direct beneficiaries, utilizing a combination of GCF grants and co-financing from the World Bank and UNICEF.

• Southern Madagascar is experiencing a significant decline in rainfall and an increase in temperature. Between 1961 and 2019, annual mean rainfall decreased by 191 mm per year at Toliary and 474 mm per year at Taolagnaro.
• Climate projections for 2030-2050-2080 indicate that minimum and maximum temperatures in the South will increase by 1.5°C, while annual precipitation is expected to decrease by between 0.1% and 5.1%.
• The region faces severe water scarcity, with only one of its four main rivers, the Mandare River, flowing year-round. Groundwater is the primary water source but suffers from highly variable salinity.
• The project proposes using managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to capture wet season surpluses, employing both natural processes (e.g., contour planting, gully plugging) and engineered approaches (e.g., infiltration basins, sand dams).
• A critical barrier to resilience is the inability of local populations to pay for upgrades; current tariffs only cover operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and cannot recover capital costs or fund climate resilience improvements.
• The project will target 24 communes in the districts of Atsimo Andrefana, Androy, and Anosy, aiming to benefit 553,240 direct beneficiaries, of whom 55% are women.
• The total indicative project cost is USD 64,225,000, with USD 25,725,000 requested from the GCF as a grant and USD 38,500,000 provided as co-financing.
• The project aims to establish a central repository for water resources information through ANDEA, utilizing a GIS system and remote sensing data to augment monitoring networks.
• To improve community-level response to drought, the project will develop risk-based drought management plans triggered by bulletins from the groundwater early warning system (GEWS).

APA

Green Climate Fund (2021). Strengthening climate resilience of water resources and supply in Southern Madagascar. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/26490-strengthening-climate-resilience-water-resources-and-supply-southern-madagascar.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Strengthening climate resilience of water resources and supply in Southern Madagascar. 2021. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/26490-strengthening-climate-resilience-water-resources-and-supply-southern-madagascar.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Strengthening climate resilience of water resources and supply in Southern Madagascar |date=14 June 2021 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/26490-strengthening-climate-resilience-water-resources-and-supply-southern-madagascar.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2021strengthening, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Strengthening climate resilience of water resources and supply in Southern Madagascar}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/26490-strengthening-climate-resilience-water-resources-and-supply-southern-madagascar.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }