Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.

Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.

Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7656-5484

Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

thesis

Degree Program

Environmental Conservation

Degree Type

Master of Science (M.S.)

Year Degree Awarded

2022

Month Degree Awarded

May

Abstract

Water is a fundamental human right supporting life, health, and livelihoods. Yet water-related issues are ranked among the top five global economic risks (WEF, 2020). About two-thirds (4 billion) of the world's population live with severe water scarcity for at least one month, of which about 48% live in both India and China (Mekonnen et al., 2016). In Côte d'Ivoire, the Bandama River, one of the largest in the country, has struggled to meet expected demand, causing recurrent water and electricity shortages. The city of Bouaké in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring towns experienced a severe water shortage in 2018 with the drying up of the water supply reservoir (Loka along the Bandama River), affecting 70% of the population causing difficult economic and social conditions. To fully understand this dimension of water scarcity in the Bandama watershed, this study models current water availability using SWAT and assesses the current watershed system in Cote d’Ivoire. Model calibration and validation performances were suboptimal. However, the model gave important information about the dominant process and the critical areas of the watershed. This information guided the development of strategies to build resilience in the water supply system through institutional and stakeholder-driven approaches.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/28639453

First Advisor

Timothy O. Randhir

Share

COinS