For the upcoming (21 - 27 March 2021, Dakar, Senegal) 9th World Water Forum I have submitted an 'action proposal' through Action Group 3A (to which I belong): Implement IWRM at all levels (SDG 6.5).
Download Action_3A_ AWRA_Campana
Here are the salient points of the proposal:
One-sentence description
Assessment of the compatibility between IWRM and groundwater, especially nonrenewable and transdboundary groundwaterSummary (300 words maximum)
AWRA, an organization long involved in the World Water Fora (3 through 8) and IWRM, proposes a session to assemble groundwater and IWRM experts to assess the state-of-the-art, future and compatibility of IWRM and groundwater, and chart a path forward.The MDGs are now history, supplanted by the SDGs. Although water now has its own goal - #6 Clean Water and Sanitation - it is a crosscutting issue affecting all goals, especially 2 (Zero Hunger); 5 (Gender Equality); 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy); 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities); 13 (Climate Action); 14 (Life Below Water); 15 (Life on Land); and 17 (Partnerships).
Groundwater is by far the largest liquid freshwater reservoir. Its importance has been magnified by the desiccation of surface freshwater resources via global warming and its accelerated global depletion. Groundwater quality must also be addressed; considering only groundwater quantity is to deal incompletely with the resource.
IWRM is now about 25 years old. Despite global acceptance and implementation it does not often adequately deal with groundwater, especially nonrenewable ('fossil') and transboundary groundwater. IWRM's focus is on river basins, which may be underlain by multiple aquifers or be connected by a single large aquifer underlying several river basins. The river basin approach often does not adequately consider groundwater's properties and dynamic response, which are quite different from those of surface water.
This session will address the following questions:
1) Is IWRM inherently anathema to groundwater?
2) Is the use of nonrenewable/fossil groundwater subsumed by IWRM?
3) Should, and how can, IWRM be modified to accommodate
groundwater development and depletion?4) Can transboundary aquifers be fully integrated into the IWRM concept? If not, what must change?
5) How can we educate the water community on the above?
6) Are there good examples of all of the above?
Outcomes (with dates to be achieved)
1) Real-world global examples of IWRM-groundwater compatibility/incompatibility - 9/2021
2) Causes for (1) and pursuit of remedies - 9/2021 & ongoing
3) Formation of a working group to address/develop
aforementioned remedies - 5/20214) Secure funding for operations/activities of (3) - 4/2022
5) Specification of a path forward to reconcile differences between IWRM approach and nonrenewable/transboundary groundwater governance/management - 9/2021 & ongoing
This proposal is quite different from the one I submitted for the 8th WWF; that one was a broadside not submitted through official channels and did not fly.
Download Groundwater at 8WWF_Final
The current one was officially submitted. Acceptance is not guaranteed; in fact I would be surprised if this one was accepted. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, or see today's quote.
Enjoy!
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." - Wayne Gretzky
Comments