Climate and Land-Use Change Impacts on Flood Hazards in the Mono River Catchment of Benin and Togo

Abstract

Flooding is prominent in West Africa, and is expected to be exacerbated, due to global climate and land-use changes. This study assessed the impacts of future climate and land-use changes on flood hazards in the Mono river catchment area of Benin and Togo. Climate scenarios from the representative concentration pathways, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, and land-use projection at the horizon of 2070 were used for runoff simulation at the Athiémé outlet, and flood mapping in the lower Mono river basin. The planned Adjarala dam was also simulated, to evaluate its potential impact. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to investigate the impact of the projected changes on runoff, while the flood-water extent was simulated using the two-dimensional TELEMAC-2D model. TELEMAC-2D was validated with satellite observation and in a participatory way with local stakeholders. SWAT showed good performance during the calibration (KGE = 0.83) and validation (KGE = 0.68) steps. Results show an increase in the magnitude of flood extremes under future climate- and land-use-change scenarios. Events of 10-year return periods during 1987–2010 are expected to become 2-year return-period events under the climate- and land-use-change scenarios considered. The planned Adjarala dam showed potentials for extreme-peak and flood-extent reduction. However, flow-duration curves revealed that the discharge of the river during low-flow periods may also be reduced if the Adjarala dam is built. Adaptation measures as well as sustainable land-use and dam-management options should be identified, to alleviate the impacts of the projected changes.