9AWW: The role of transboundary aquifers in socioeconomic development

Groundwater is the main source of water on the continent, supporting 80% of the resource needed for agricultural and potable purposes. Aquifers provide a sustainable solution to enhance the resilience of local communities from the effects of climate change. The last result of SDG indicator 6.5.2 report shows that in Africa fewer than 10% of transboundary aquifers are the object of agreements. In addition, most agreements assume that future water supply and quality will not change and fail to consider increasing climate-induced water variability, lacking the capacity to adapt to temporal and spatial changes in water quantity. Further to that the knowledge scale of the resource is not adequate to support activities at community level and the awareness on the sustainable management of the resource is at best limited. The session aims to describe current efforts in Southern Africa (SADC Region), Western and Eastern Africa, presenting examples of current cooperation, showcasing lessons learned and identifying gaps that require further investments.