The sustainability of freshwater supply as a function of temperature change and forest size in Africa

The study examines the sustainability of freshwater supply as a function of temperature change and forest size in Africa. In particular, it analyzed the extent to which freshwater quantity is affected by changes in average annual temperature and stock of forests in African countries. Logarithmic regression models are employed to analyze secondary data from established web-based sources on Africa’s 54 countries. The model linking the dependent variable (DV), available freshwater per capita (FRESHWATER) and the independent variables (IVs), temperature (TEMP), and forest size (FOREST) as well as the control variable (CV) classifying countries as coastal or not (COAST), is shown to be statistically significant. Both IVs are found to be statistically linked to the DV, suggesting that the freshwater supply of African countries is influenced by temperature and their forest inventory as a proportion of all land. The link between FRESHWATER and COAST is not statistically significant, implying that a country’s location vis-à-vis the coast has no impact on its freshwater supply. An important policy implication of these findings is that authorities in Africa would do well to promote afforestation programs as a means of ‘making’ and conserving freshwater, and also a means of contributing to terrestrial cooling.