Book excerpt: The African Water Resource Database (AWRD) is a set of data and custom-designed tools, combined in a geographic information system (GIS) analytical framework, aimed at facilitating responsible inland aquatic resource management with a focus on inland fisheries and aquaculture. It thus provides a valuable instrument to promote food security. The AWRD data archive includes an extensive collection of datasets covering the African continent, including: surface waterbodies, watersheds, aquatic species, rivers, political boundaries, population density, soils, satellite imagery and many other physiographic and climatological data. This technical paper is the first of two publications about the AWRD, and it gives a general overview addressed both to administrators and managers, as well as for professionals in technical fields. The second part of this technical paper is available separately (ISBN 9789251056479).