However, surface waters receive much more attention, support and funding and groundwater resources are currently underutilized, with a global annual consumption of about 800 Km3; this represents only about 20 percent of total annual freshwater withdrawals (WMO, 1997).
The UNDP Water Governance Programme has estimated that 42 African countries will not meet their MDG water targets by 2015 in the 'business-as-usual' scenario. In terms of investments, responding to people's needs and sustainable development and attaining the MDGs, there is a strong need to better map out and sustainably develop Africa's groundwater resources. UNDP is one of the leading players and global advocates in the development and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources for poverty reduction.
For example the UNDP-GEF Eastern Desert Project in Egypt has developed a methodology for assessing groundwater recharge from flash floods. With the projected increases in flash floods as a result of climate change, this may offer an interesting adaptation response. Groundwater projects are often transboundary and involve many partners. The Nubian Aquifer is the largest fossil aquifer in the world, covering an area of 2 million km2 across Libya, Egypt, Tchad and the Sudan.
The key elements of a GEF project jointly implemented by UNDP, IAEA and UNESCO include mapping its resources, strengthening cooperation through an agreed plan of action and getting Tchad and the Sudan fully engaged in the Joint Authority that acts as the regional institution. On behalf of UN-Water and in partnership with private and public partners, UNESCO has embarked on a large-scale groundwater assessment programme called WHYMAP.
Building on this scientific work and tackling the governance aspect, a UNDP pan-African project, operating with GEF funding and following through the German-supported Petersberg dialogues, provides targeted input to the African Ministerial Conference On Water (AMCOW) in implementing the Africa Water Vision 2025.
In partnership with African and international bodies, the project is working to bridge the gap between surface and groundwater, and between technicians and politicians. It does so by building capacity of River Basin Organizations to deal with groundwater and by targeting parliamentarians, ministers of finance and the media for increased understanding of groundwater and its role.
Projects such as these illustrate how UNDP and the GEF are working together, to achieve the MDGs and provide equitable and safe access to water under growing global uncertainties.
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