Day 1 5-nenjo kukuric - igrac

Groundwater from

Global Perspective

International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre

Paris, April 2013Dr Neno Kukurić

Groundwater makes up more than 95% of the unfrozen freshwater reserves on our planet.

Current GW abstraction is estimated to be ca 1,000 km3 per year, of which about 67% is used for irrigation, 22% for domestic purposes and 11% for industry (IGRAC, 2010).

Current GW abstraction represents approximately 26% of total freshwater withdrawal globally (WWDR, 2012).

Groundwater from Global Perspective

Groundwater supplies almost half of all drinking water in the world (WWDR, 2009) and 43% of the global consumptive use in irrigation (Siebert et al., 2010).

Groundwater is often a possible solution for the people without access to safe drinking water (1 in 6 worldwide).

Groundwater also provides strength to soil matrix and prevents sea water intrusion.


Strong regeneration and buffering characteristics of groundwater systems are of great importance in sustaining groundwater fed wetlands and vegetationand it is a baseflow to rivers.

Although groundwater is often seen as a local resource, its use and protection have a global impact. In a modern world, a flow of goods is also the flow of (ground)water used for their production.

This requires worldwide exchange of information and knowledge and a regular assessment and monitoring on regional/ global scale.

Global change, population growth and climate variability are increasing the pressure on groundwater resources

global groundwater consumption per sector



World Bank Asian Development Bank Organization of American States US State Department European Union, AMCOW UNESCO, WMO, WRI…

Groundwater from Global Perspective IGRAC - International Groundwater Resource Assessment

Centre is (since 2003) UNESCO and WMO groundwater centre

IGRAC facilitates and promotes global sharing of information and knowledge required for sustainable groundwater resources development and management

Focused on information and knowledge management, transboundary aquifer assessment and groundwater monitoring

Receives financial support from the Government of The Netherlands

In-house partner of UNESCO-IHE in Delft, The Netherlands

IGRAC Portal

www.un-igrac.org

The fact: many aquifers cross the political borders

Potential cross-boundary problems: changes in groundwater flows, levels, volumes (quantity) and dissolved substances (quality).

Actions: aquifer characterisation and an appropriate management.

Benefits: eliminating potential sources of conflict and improving the overall benefit from groundwater.

Internationally Shared Aquifers


People Networks make up the core of appropriate assessment ad management of internationally shared groundwaters.


People Networks need common, interactive tools for the assessment: a Global TBA Information System


Global Groundwater Assessment Regular contribution to the World Water Development

Report (WWDR) as an orderly insight into the state of global groundwater resources

providing information - building the groundwater case

Global Groundwater Assessment Groundwater salinity worldwide, including drivers, dynamics,

risks and opportunities, prevention and mitigation measures


Global Groundwater Assessment Global Inventory of MAR - Managing Aquifer Recharge

Assessment of Arsenic andFluoride worldwide


Groundwater in the Changing World

Potential climate risks for groundwater include: reduced groundwater recharge, sea water intrusion to coastal aquifers, contraction of freshwater lenses on small islands, increased demand.

GW management needs to consider both climatic and non-climatic risks in a conjunctive manner

Groundwater can also be affected bynon-climatic drivers, such as:

population growth, food demand land use change.

Groundwater and Climate Change

“groundwater is the major source of drinking water across much of the world… but there has been very little research on the potential effects

of climate change”.

Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in both their 3rd (2001) and 4th (2007) Assessment Reports

Groundwater and Climate Change

Climate change impacts on long-term average groundwater recharge(renewable groundwater resources) Döll and Flörke (2005)

Data, Models and Predictions

Global hydrological models continue to employ simplistic characterisations of groundwater systems due, in part, to the absence of global or continental-scale datasets to test or tune these models.

There is a concern over overvaluation of proxy information used in the models as a consequence of lack of sufficient monitoring datasets.

Satellite monitoring of changes in total water storage under the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) brings valuable insight but also has clear limitations

Global Groundwater Monitoring Network GGMN a participative, web-based network of networks, containing

measurements and aggregated estimations

‘The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be’

Paul Valery (1871 - 1945)



serious gaming

hydro-economic modeling

changing management

Closing Remarks

Climate change and human impact on groundwater resources does not stop at the country borders;

There is clear need for the improvement of groundwater monitoring networks required for better understanding and management of groundwater systems;

IGRAC facilitates a global flow of information – to improve its quality (monitoring) and accessibility (cooperation);

Building a case for invisible groundwater, promoting a participative approach (people factor: it is all about emotions).

Thank you for your attention

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

World Meteorological Organization

Government of The Netherlands

Science

Day 1 5-nenjo kukuric - igrac