Key Groundwater Issues

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A series of pages covering key issues relating to groundwater in Africa.

Urban groundwater in Africa

Groundwater is already a vital resource in towns and cities across Africa, and is becoming ever more important as the pace of urbanisation grows. The development, management and protection of groundwater resources in urban areas faces additional challenges to that in rural areas. The Urban groundwater in Africa page provides some background on issues relating to urban groundwater in Africa, and links to more information.

Groundwater and irrigation in Africa

Currently only about 1% of cultivated land in Africa is irrigated using groundwater. Most irrigation using groundwater in Africa is at small scales by smallholder farmers, but there are large scale groundwater irrigation schemes in some countries, particularly in South Africa and in north African countries. Irrigation can significantly improve food security and improvements in livelihoods, and groundwater can play a major role in this in future, if sustainably managed. The Groundwater and irrigation in Africa page provides some background, and links to more information, including case studies.

Transboundary aquifers

Transboundary aquifers underlie more than one country or political region. The management of transboundary aquifers requires cooperation between countries. The Transboundary aquifers page gives some background on mapping transboundary aquifers across Africa, and some large scale projects to increase understanding of major transboundary aquifers, such as the Lake Chad Basin.

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