Southern African Development Community - SADC - Groundwater and Drought Management Project

The objective of the project is for the SADC member states to develop cooperatively a strategic regional approach to support and enhance the capacity of its member States in the definition of drought management policies, specifically in relation to the role, availability (magnitude and recharge) and supply potential of groundwater resources. The project consists of four components.

• The first, development and testing of a groundwater drought management plan for the Limpopo River Basin pilot areas, will test the application and replicability of methods of decreasing the vulnerability of local communities and GDEs to the effects of groundwater droughts, and to ensure that practical on-the-ground benefits accrue to local people from the project.
• The second, regional groundwater drought management support, will provide tools for transboundary groundwater management, including hydrogeological maps and maps of groundwater vulnerability and water scarcity.
• The third, establishment of the Groundwater Management Institute of Southern Africa (GMISA), will create an institution to increase knowledge of and capacity for groundwater management in SADC, in order to sustain the work of the project and maintain readiness to address future drought events.
• The fourth, project management and administration, will provide maximum extemal support to the SADC Water Division.

This will assist in reconciling the demands for socio-economic development and those of the principal groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Tools will be elaborated for regional cooperative management of transboundary aquifers and to guide sustainable downstream investments in proactive drought mitigation.

Documents & Resources

project-document Africa Region-Groundwater & Drought Management in Southern African Development Community (SADC) presentation Science View Importance of Groundwater and Surface-Subsurface Interactions results-notes 2011 Results Notes - Southern African Development Community (SADC) Groundwater and Drought Management Project Document Central District Chicualacuala Gauteng Kgalagadi District Kgatleng District Kweneng District Limpopo Province Limpopo River Masvingo Province Matabeleland South Province Mpumalanga North East District Province of North-West Provincia de Gaza Provincia de Inhambane Provincia de Maputo South East District Southern District Link SADC Water Sector produces documentaries on Regional Water Cooperation maps_graphic 0001040649 0000933657 0001046058 Videos SADC Water Sector produces documentaries on Regional Water Cooperation