1.3 Research objectives
The main objective of is study is to understand and to model the
hydrological budget and processes in the Congo River Basin.
The specific objectives are as follows:
· To study the hydromorphologic characteristics of the
Congo basin based on Digital Elevation Model (DEM) processing techniques
· To determine the available spatial and temporal
hydro-climatic information and data
gaps in order to undertake a GIS-based
water budget study in the Congo River Basin.
· To assess the spatial and temporal variability of water
balance components namely, soil moisture, actual evapotranspiration and runoff
in the Congo river basin.
· To map the spatial and temporal variability of
rainfall, effective rainfall, potential and actual evapotranspiration, soil
moisture, runoff and Vertical Integrated Moisture Convergence in Congo River
Basin
1.4 Importance of study
The hydrological cycle of the Congo River Basin is of great
importance as the region plays an
important role in the functioning of
regional and global climate. Variations in regional water
and energy balance
at year-to-year and longer time scales are of special interest, because
alterations in circulation and precipitation can ultimately
translate changes in the streamflow of the Congo River Basin. In addition,
these changes can also affect the atmospheric moisture transport from the Congo
River Basin to adjacent regions.
With a discharge of be 41,800m3/s; the Congo River
contributes for itself with about 30 % of the water inflow to the Atlantic
Ocean from the African continent. In 1980, its contribution was estimated to
41.1% (Olivry et al, 1993).
The Congo is the biggest means of transportation in Central
Africa with more than 14,500 km of navigable channel/rivers across Central
Africa. The Congo River has enormous hydroelectricity potential that can supply
the whole African continent. It represents more than one-sixth of the world's
known resources and remains un-exploited.
In February 2005, South Africa's state-owned power company,
Eskom, announced a proposal to increase the capacity of the Inga Dam
dramatically through improvements and the construction of a new dam and
hydropower plant. The project would bring the maximum output of the facility to
40 GW, twice that of China's Three Gorges Dam (UNEP, 2006).
In June 2007, the African Development Bank (AfDB) signed two
agreements with the International Commission of the Congo-Oubangi-Sangha River
Basin (CICOS) amounting to 2.44 million euros from the African Water Facility
(AWF) to finance programmes aimed at improving the integrated management of
Congo River Basin. The two agreements were hailed as a significant event of
engagement of the African Water Facility to support the objectives of creating
an enabling environment for sustainable water resources management of the Congo
River Basin with a view to bringing about socio-economic development and
environmental wellbeing for the benefit of countries sharing the water
resources in particular, Africa in general (Allafrica, 2007).
The water balance model to be developed will provide a reasonable
solution to large scale hydrological problems associated with planning and
optimal management of the resources in the catchment.
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