An ecohydrological impact assessment in urban areas : urban water erosion in Windhoek Namibia Over the last decades the world’s population has been growing at a faster rate resulting in increased urbanisation especially in developing countries. More than half of the global population currently lives in urbanised areas with an increasing tendency. The growth of cities results in a significant loss of vegetation cover soil compaction and sealing of the soil surface which in turn results in high surface runoff during high intensity storms and causes the problem of accelerated soil water erosion on streets and building grounds. Accelerated soil water erosion is a serious environmental problem in cities as it gives rise to the contamination of aquatic bodies reduction of ground water recharge and increase in land degradation and also results in damages to urban infrastructures including drainage systems houses and roads. Understanding the problem of water erosion in urban settings is essential for the sustainable planning and management of cities prone to water erosion. However in spite of the vast existence of scientific …