Quo Vadis Aquifers?
The IPCC recognised that there has been very little research on the potential effects of climate change on groundwater resources and that the panel could only present a series of hypotheses in its final 2001 Assessment (IPCC, 2001; p 199). Groundwater resources are a major source of freshwater for large swaths of the planet’s population but they are increasingly under threat from anthropogenic activities.  This compromises the sustainability of the resource and thus threatens human security. What is the vulnerability of communities who rely on groundwater resources for their every day lives in the short, medium and long terms? The answer to this difficult question will vary considerably from location to location as many parameters interact to generate that vulnerability. This link between groundwater degradation and human security needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner and it is for this reason that UNESCO-IHP and UNU-EHS have launched a programme named Quo Vadis Aquifers? (QVA) to tackle this issue from research, capacity development and networking perspectives.

UNESCO Sector: Division of Water Sciences
Responsible Staff: Jose Luis Martin, Alice Aureli
More Information: http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file.php?id=146