"Easing Water Scarcity by Understanding When and Where it Flows" - Kala Fleming's Ted Talk

     Hi !

    I hope you enjoyed reading my previous post on climate migrants! Today, I'm writing to share with you a very inspiring Ted Talk in which Kala Fleming of IBM Research Africa explains her idea of "digital aquifers" which is closely related to our "Water and Development in Africa" module! After studying and working in the United States many years, Kala Fleming is now based in Kenya. The video that you can find below is entitled "Easing Water Scarcity by Understanding When and Where it Flows".

Kala Fleming's Ted Talk - TED@IBM - October 2015

    Her thesis is that the virtual digitalization of groundwater enables not only better planning and distribution but also offers much improved economic growth opportunities. According to her, there is not a lack of water in Africa. This reminds me of the statement of Claude Jamati ("Africa does not lack water") on whose work (L'Afrique et l'eau, 2014) I focused among others in my second blog post on the very political financing of water infrastructures in Africa. Kala Fleming, for her part, relies on the Nigerian political activist Fela Kuti to support her in this matter and quotes him: “There is plenty water in Africa; water underground, water overground and water in the air… but look to your left, look to your right, you can’t see it.” She then gives examples to prove that there is water abundance in many African areas. Congo has 22 times the water resources of the USA ("Discovering aquifers", TEDxNairobi, 2015). All of Africa has more than a trillion cubic meters of renewable underground water. 100 million acres of arable land holds this water.

    But then, if there is so much water, why are so many people living water constrained lives?

    Kala Fleming’s solution does not lie in the very political financing of new water infrastructures but in the use of data, technology and expertise combined. Digital aquifers monitor underground water storage levels thanks to sensors linked to wells making available real-time data to the analysis in the cloud. Residents of a community with groundwater are account holders and each person is allowed to consume a certain amount of water.

    In Kenya, groundwater wells are already streaming information on water quantity. This real-time data helps Kenyans to understand when wells are about to fail as in Sub-Saharan Africa, 50% of wells fail within two to three years of being installed. “Digital aquifers” are also very useful to determine where new wells should be built and also to ensure that wells are properly maintained and not subject to overuse. These "digital aquifers" also prevent the risk of scarcity and thus reduce the barriers to economic growth that water scarcity builds for small farms in sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, in Kenya, water scarcity is an important problem where 80% of the country is arid or semi-arid (ASALs), so many farmers depend primarily on rainfall to water their crops, because there’s little irrigation available ("Discovering aquifers", TEDxNairobi, 2015). When water is scarce, it constrains economic growth and exacerbates key global security concerns such as diseases, conflicts and food productions.

    Therefore, sharing this Ted Talk on my blog appears to be very pertinent to me because it clearly links water to development. Kala Fleming’s innovative solution enables people to know and value what water resources they have and therefore to dare to invest. Moreover, banks would certainly feel better to loan money to farmers who they knew had a reliable water supply. Risky bets on water availability are no more a necessity as land owners are now able to precisely estimate the value of their resources.

    Ultimately, because it is unacceptable that 2.7 billion people are still suffering from water shortage for at least one month a year (WWF quoted by Kala Fleming, Bosch, 2018), Kala Fleming advocates the digitalization of groundwater resources since big data helps fight water shortage. Last but not least, “Digital aquifers” also relate to politics as water is a prerequisite for social stability and Africa is leading the way in this field. The solution is already being exported around the world, such as to the Philippines where « digital aquifers » help the government increase its operational efficiency as it looks to ensure equitable water distributions for all inhabitants. “Digital aquifers” can also therefore support decision-makers.

    Now all you have to do is watch the Ted Talk after understanding the basics of "digital aquifers" from my post and listen to Kala Fleming explain her brilliant idea by herself!