| Chapter 1: | Water Resources Development and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa |
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Figure 1.2. Freshwater withdrawals per capita per year, by region, 1987_1995.
Source. World Commission on Dams (2000).
Water Availability and Storage
While it could be argued that the size of SSA's renewable water resources limits absolute levels of potential water withdrawals, the percent of SSA's renewable water resources that are stored is nevertheless small compared to other regions (table 1.1). Generally speaking, the largest proportion of withdrawn water comes from water storage, and low levels of water storage will usually lead to low levels of water withdrawal. SSA's low level of storage, therefore, imposes severe limitations on the