Side-event on "Groundwater: key resource for adaptation" November 15, 2022

This event was held on the occasion of COP27 and was marked by the participation of H.E.Mr. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, Minister of Water and Sanitation of Senegal and H.E.Mrs. Barbara Pompili, Minister of Ecological Transition of France and President of the OECD Water Governance Initiative, who stressed the importance of mobilizing groundwater resources to meet the growing needs of the populations and the different sectors, especially agriculture and industry.

In his speech, Mr. AbdelKader DODO, OSS Water Department Coordinator, explained the relevance of the OSS approach for a sustainable management of transboundary water resources and recalled that it is applied to other aquifer systems and adapted to their specificities.

He sounded alarm messages, called for deepening knowledge of the water resources of the African continent and made the recommendation of either strengthening the existing management frameworks or setting up new ones. Indeed, only 4 aquifer systems have a management framework in Africa, unlike the watersheds that are grouped in the African Network of Basin Organizations (ANBO).

“Out of the 83 aquifers listed in Africa, only 10 aquifers are recorded” he said.

He also called upon the financial partners to provide grants to the countries sharing the resource in support to their activities.

At the end of the exchanges and discussions, the participants put emphasis on the usefulness of a coordinated mobilization of the trans-boundary aquifer systems water resources on the African continent to help the populations living in arid regions better adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.