Assessment of Groundwater Challenges and Opportunities in Support of Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

World Bank Group

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: GROUNDWATER;    RURAL WATER SUPPLY;    URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT;    DROUGHT;    WATER DEMAND;   

RP-ID  :  129390

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The report confirms that groundwater, ifmanaged sustainably, can be an important developmentresource across the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. Thereport presents data related to groundwater resourcecharacteristics and highlights the opportunities andchallenges presented in promoting sustainable and resilientgroundwater development in the region. Groundwater hassignificant potential to support human and economicdevelopment in SSA, as it has done in other global regions.The report recommends investment in expanding groundwaterdevelopment as an integral component of national waterresources strategy for countries in SSA. Investment ingroundwater can be financially viable and a wise policyoption to support socioeconomic development if safeguardsspecific to groundwater are incorporated intoinvestmentprograms. The expansion should be designed withina sustainable framework responsive to thespecial social andcultural and economic features of groundwater resources,compounded bytheir special hydrological, environmental andengineering dimensions to guide sustainabledevelopment ofthis important component of water resources.