| Chapter 1: | Water Resources Development and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa |
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Table 1.1. Global water resources and reservoir storage, by region.
| Region | Storage (km3/year) | Renewable water resources (km3/year) | Storage/renewable water resources (%) |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 388 | 5,447 | 7 |
| North Africa/Middle East | 392 | 654 | 60 |
| South America | 891 | 17,195 | 5 |
| Oceana | 107 | 1,694 | 6 |
| Asia | 1,262 | 14,508 | 9 |
| Central America/ Caribbean | 148 | 1,251 | 12 |
| Europe | 1,083 | 7,771 | 14 |
| North America | 1,845 | 5,953 | 31 |
Source. White (2005).
quantity and reliability of water which can be withdrawn, and SSA's low water withdrawal is in all likelihood more a function of the region's paucity of storage than limitations related to the size of its natural water endowment.
Compounding SSA's water challenges is the region's high level of rainfall variability (Brown & Lall, 2006). Annual and seasonal variability in rainfall subjects the region to more droughts and floods than other regions. The consequences of these extreme weather events reveal the region's low storage capacities, which could be potentially increased to reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods. High seasonal variability renders annual data unreliable in the context of low storage. Theoretically abundant water supplies, when measured on an annual basis, may be available only during a few months of high rainfall. As a result, water scarcity may be theoretically absent on an annual basis yet practically acute on a seasonal basis.