Africa, the cradle of many old civilizations, is the second largest
world continent, and the homeland of nearly one-eighth of the world
population. Despite Africa's richness in natural resources, the average
income per person, after excluding a few countries, is the lowest all
over the world, and the percentage of inhabitants infected with
contagious diseases is the highest. Development of Africa to help
accommodate the ever-increasing population and secure a reasonable
living standard to all inhabitants, though an enormous challenge is
extremely necessary. Water is the artery of life, without it all living
creatures on earth cannot survive. As such, a thorough knowledge of the
meteorological and hydrological processes influencing the yield and
quality of the water resources, surface and subsurface, and their
distribution and variability in time and space is unavoidable for the
overall development of any part of the world. It is highly probable that
the said knowledge is at present a top priority to Africa, a continent
that has been for so long-and probably still-devastated by the endless
ambitions of colonial powers not to forget the corruption and
destruction practiced by the internal powers, at least in some
countries. The present book "Hydrology and Water Resources of Africa" is
written with the aim of bringing together in one volume a fair amount of
knowledge any professional involved in hydrology and water resources of
Africa needs to know.