Managing Southern Africa's shared aquifers

Abstract

Transboundary aquifers The world’s aquifers have been described as ‘secretive’, ‘hidden’, and ‘mysterious’. All indications are that we just do not know enough about them. Transboundary aquifers, i.e. those underground resources which cross the border between two or more countries; are an estimated three times greater in volume than internationally shared surface waters. However, they are generally not well understood by decision makers and policy developers, in some cases being blatantly ignored. There is still no comprehensive worldwide inventory of transboundary aquifers, and very little experience worldwide in the joint management of these resources, even though some of them contain huge quantities of water. T oday’s best practice in sustainable water management – Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) – focuses on river basins as the unit of management, explains Dr Anthony T urton, Head of the African Water Issues Research Unit at the University of Pretoria.

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