Mainstreaming climate change into water policies: a case study from Burkina Faso

Climate change (CC) in Burkina Faso is projected to materialize by, among other things, an increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Not properly addressing the impacts of these projected CCs on water resources will yield enormous economic and social cost and compromise the country ’ s development objectives. However, Burkina Faso ’ s National Water Strategy (NWS) had not suf ﬁ ciently addressed CC impacts, and recently development partners have started an initiative to help ﬁ ll these gaps. The current study aims at documenting lessons learnt from this multi-partner process of integrating CC adaptation (CCA) into the NWS. The integration process was done using the climate proo ﬁ ng tool, an approach based on evidence of the vulnerability of water resources to CC. It consisted of (i) an initial assessment of the integration of CCA into the NWS and (ii) a formulation of a set of actions to reduce the vulnerability of water resources to CC. Lessons drawn from the CCA integration process are also presented.


INTRODUCTION
Climate change (CC) and its impacts are currently a major worldwide concern (IPCC ). Developing countries, due to high exposure and limited adaptive capacities, are reported to be the most vulnerable ones (IPCC ). The West African Sahel has, over the past decades, experienced climatic situations characterized by fluctuations in arid and humid periods. This resulted in recurrent extreme events such as droughts and floods, and increased water stress (Kasei et al. ). Reduction in rainfall and water resource decline for Sahelian countries will have severe consequences on socio-economic and health sectors (Bognini ). Several hydrological studies carried out in this part of Africa have shown considerable changes in river regimes. This includes a decrease in the runoff from large basins, a decrease in river levels, and an increase in the drying up coefficient of these basins (Bamba et al. ). Several studies achieved similar results and additionally reported that, under changing climate conditions, the decrease in rainfall will cause a drop in base flow and groundwater recharge (D'orgeval ; Boubacar ).
Water is a major development issue for Africa. Water access is more affected by the economic scarcity of water, linked to a growing demand. Moreover, Nguimalet et al. () report that this resource is quantitatively and qualitatively lacking due to unfavorable climatic conditions, population growth, pollution and insufficient hydraulic infrastructures. Under current CC conditions, the implementation of adaptation strategies to cope with the potential impacts of CC on hydrological systems is an imperative for rational water resource management (Piani et al. ; Zougmoré et al. ).
Burkina Faso is already suffering the adverse effects of CC. As a result, the country has developed many CCA initiatives, including a National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP) adopted in September 2015. The NAP is the national repository to facilitate a systematic integration of CCA into development efforts. This Plan provides guidances for CCA development policies in priority sectors vulnerable to CC (agriculture, livestock, health, environment, energy, infrastructure and water resources). However, Theokritoff & D'haen () indicated that national policies do generally not adequately support CCA actions. Integrating CCA into short-and medium-term development policy decisions is, however, an effective response to CC (Persson & Klein ).
This integration is strongly supported by many international funding agencies, which recognize the advantages of the approach as a means of ensuring the sustainability of investments (Lebel et al. ).
Many studies have explored various barriers that could limit the process of integrating CCA into policies. These barriers mainly include an uncertainty of scientific knowledge (Dessai &  The CPD was chosen for its flexibility and ease of use as well as its previous application in many countries such as Benin and Senegal, respectively, for the National Health Climate proofing refers to making a plan or an investment more resilient to CC. It also indicates that climate policies are integrated into policy documents. 'CPD' is an approach developed by GIZ to enable decision-makers and planners to systematically integrate CC into planning processes at national, sectoral, local and project levels (Hahn & Fröde ). The methodological framework consists of (i) an analysis of planning tools and documents to assess the extent to which CC is taken into account and (ii) the level of integration of CCA measures in order to ensure a long-term sustainability of investments and reduce the sensitivity of development activities to the current and future climate (Klein et al. ).
The CPD tool is ideally applied from the beginning of the planning phase but can also be used when revising planning. The description of the evolution of climate parameters, the choice of exposure units (EUs), the determination of biophysical and socio-economic effects and the identification of adaptation strategies are the main steps necessary for the application of CPD (Table 1).
The approach adopted for the process of integrating CC into the NWS has faithfully followed the steps mentioned above while applying the CPD tool except for the integration step (integration is, however, addressed in the conclusion section).
The CPD of the NWS was implemented in July 2019 and involved about 30 experts working in the field of CC and water through a number of meetings and a national workshop. Initial presentations were made on the CPD to equip participants.
The presentations focused on, among other subjects, (i) the CPD tool, (ii) the vulnerability of water resources in Burkina Faso, (iii) a case study on the 'vulnerability of water resources to CC: key concepts, principles, methods and results', (iv) the challenges of CC in Burkina Faso and (v) the NWS.

The initial level of CC integration into the NWS
The application of CPD involves a prior identification of entry points for CC integration that can take place at Step 1: Preparation of the process Step 2: Analysis Step 3: Stock options Step 4

Assessment of climatic parameters, EUs and impacts
The workshop participants (experts) identified climatic trends and EUs as well as biophysical and socio-economic effects at the national level. They also identified for each EU and changing climate variable the factors affecting its vulnerability and the water sub-sector to be potentially impacted.

Identification of CCA options
The identification of adaptation options during the work-

Initial status of CC integration in the NWS
CC is mentioned as a risk factor and as a major constraint to the implementation of the NWS in the body of the initial document. Although reference is made to the negative impacts of CC on water resources and adaptation actions, these impacts and actions are not specifically developed.
Nor does the NWS take into account CC aspects at the analytical, policy and budgetary levels. The level of integration of CC into the NWS was therefore assessed as low (Table 2). For illustration purposes, one notes that an analysis of water resources in the face of CC is missing in the 'diagnostic section' of the NWS. As the initial analysis is formulated, it mainly addresses the state of water resource availability, its quality, demands and uses.

Analysis of the vulnerability of water resources to CC
The hazards the country's water resources are exposed to in a context of CC are essentially temperature rise, winds, decrease and increase in rainfall and drought.

The increase in temperature
Climate models generally agree on a rising temperature trend for the future in the country (LAME ; Salack . This increase in temperature, in relation to the induced increase in potential evapotranspiration, will potentially have adverse consequences on water resources. Both the availability (will decrease) and demand (will increase) will be negatively affected. This will impact water productivity, water needs and the efficiency of use for sectors like agriculture, livestock and energy (Novoa ).
The rise in temperature will also result in a warming of water, which reduces its capacity to biodegrade certain pollutants, leading to a decrease in quality (Novoa ). This vulnerability will be worsened by the current poor level of water management.

The winds
Winds are not listed as a major climate hazard for the country, unlike others regions such as Asia, Australia, North America, Oceans and Small Islands (IPCC ).
Nevertheless, participants insisted that winds be considered

Drought
Drought is a phenomenon that occurs when rainfall is significantly below normal recorded levels and causes significant hydrological imbalances that are detrimental to land resource production systems (IPCC ). It affects the quality of surface and groundwater, thereby reducing the availability of water resources.
It therefore increases water insecurity and generates conflicts over access to water that will be aggravated by many factors of vulnerability, including poverty, poor management, low level of water governance and knowledge of the resource. The country drinking water supply situation remains vulnerable as evidenced by recurrent water shortages in all cities. Possible reasons include a low storage capacity of dams and the high demand from a rapid growing population.

Increased precipitation
Increased precipitation can lead to increased water availability that can improve agricultural production and hydroelectric potential. However, the projected increase in rainfall intensity can lead to an increase in shallow groundwater contamination (Macdonald et al. ) and the destruction of water and sanitation facilities. This will be aggravated by vulnerability factors like poor design, lowgrade construction materials, obsolescence of dams, as well as institutional governance and incivility. Increased rainfall will also be reflected in increased runoff, high peak flows and waterlogging. This will result in floods. Factors such as poor land use and deforestation will aggravate

Decreased precipitation
The hydrological regime is dictated in the country mainly by precipitations. As such, the effects of a reduced rainfall will translate into a decrease in infiltration, degradation of water quality and a drop in river flows (Bamba et al. ).
Moreover, a decrease in rainfall can lead to a reduction in groundwater recharge and a drop in groundwater levels.
Such a situation will have negative impacts on the different sectors of the country's socio-economy.

Identified CCA actions to be integrated into the NWS
The CCA actions to be integrated into the NWS as identified by the participants are presented in Table 3. These actions were deemed effective despite a projected uncertain precipitation change signal for the country (also referred to as 'no-    planning. Stakeholders also argue that multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed to facilitate the integration of CC into the planning and budgeting process ( • The need to start the CPD process as early as possible at the beginning of the writing/revision process of the tar- • The need for the approach to be as participatory and inclusive as possible, to increase stakeholders' sense of responsibility and ownership

) have shown that there is a real lack of information on
The CPD involved participants from the technical services involved in the implementation of the NWS, the scientific community, Civil Society and the Private Sector.
The involvement of stakeholders in the process has, on the one hand, strengthened the sense of responsibility and partnership/ownership and, on the other hand, facilitated the identification of shared measures for improving the resilience of water resources to CC.
• The opportunity of using the CPD approach to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders Integrating CC into policies is not always understood by sectoral actors and is not straightforward. Indeed, actors most often consider that mainstreaming CCA is limited to merely mentioning 'CC language' in policy documents.
Whereas a good understanding would consist in first establishing the vulnerability of the sector to CC and then defining specific actions to address the expected climate impacts. During the CPD workshop, information on CC and its impacts was provided to participants.
The sharing of knowledge through the various presentations helped to build the capacity of some stakeholders on the concepts of CC issues and the process of integrating CC into planning.

CONCLUSION
Integrating CCA into the NWS forms part of the requirements of international climate agreements and contributes to strengthening climate governance. It is also a means of attracting technical and financial partners addressing CCA.
From the results of the study, the application of the CPD tool to the NWS resulted in CCA actions that induced a substantial increase of the original budget.
The proposed adaptation actions include: (i) measures that aim at increasing water storage capacity through harnessing groundwater resources, protecting hydro systems to face water shortage, (ii) measures that aim at strengthening and updating standards for hydraulic facilities to face high discharges and flood hazards and (iii) measures aiming at improving water governance. Moreover, the process of mainstreaming CC into the NWS has yielded a number of lessons that could guide future initiatives as the country is in the process of revising most of its development plans: (1) carefully choosing the entry point based on available information and existence of opportunities to influence processes; (2) the need to start the CPD process as early as possible at the beginning of the writing/revision process of the targeted policy; (3) bearing in mind the additional cost of identified climate actions and guiding stakeholders to explore opportunities for resource mobilization for the additional CCA; (4) the need for the approach to be as participatory and inclusive as possible, to increase stakeholders' sense of responsibility and ownership and (5) the opportunity of using the CPD approach to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders.