Summary of the first session (part 2 of 2) by Uwem Robert OTU | Part I of 2
Representative of African Youth Movement to the United Nations Department of Global Communications

Description & Concept Note |  FLIER (pdf) |  BOOKLET with the Bios of the Speakers & Presenters

The below summary covers all the presentations by the Panelists, which were delivered
on March 21, 2022.

Follow by the Opening Session, Moderator Prof. Olcay Ünver, Arizona State University, Former Vice-Chair, UN-Water; move into the panel session and introduced the first speaker of the panelists, Mercedes Castro, Member, Water Policy Group (WPG) from Lima, Peru.

Ms. Castro introduced the Water Policy Group, which is a coalition of people to share knowledge, network and practical experience that can help achieve sustainable development of water resources. She presented the recent “Global Water Policy Report” that is presented from water leaders of 88 Countries and 6 billion people the report deals with the water-related risk countries are facing, achieving the global goals on target 6 and then groundwater. The Report authored by the world water leaders of 88 Countries that reflects 6 billion people. The WPG shares perspectives of national water leaders and the issues they face.

Ms. Castro underlined that Groundwater is so important and accounts for 90% of the World’s fresh water. She said that 90% of the water leaders consider groundwater very essential to the future of the country’s water supply. In another survey, for very few of the surveyed countries, 2% of the national water leaders consider the SDG 6 targets difficult to achieve and it is rated according to income group. The most common weighted response is the meal choice and that it is difficult to achieve the SDG 6 targets and drinking water targets found to be not difficult or already achieved by 55 of the surveyed countries and 61% in the high-income group and 39% in the low-income group. She looked at impediments to how groundwater is managed, when the survey considered the 5 main impediments, economic factors were 15%, cost and complexity of solutions was 15%, the inadequacy of regulation was 14% and 11 of the surveyed countries do the national water leaders say institution and laws are highly effective and 84 of the countries say institution and laws are somewhat effective. She looked at the effectiveness of institutions and laws in the surveyed countries. National water leaders of 98% consider groundwater to be very important and half think that groundwater is not well considered in national planning. 

She concluded her presentation with the following suggestion: We need to work in a team with everyone from academia, policymakers, and civil society to make a difference. The pandemic hasn’t changed efforts at groundwater management and is at risk in many places. 
Presentation

Moderator Prof. Olcay Ünver welcomed to the second speaker of the panel Shammy Puri, Director, Centre for Sustainable Solutions with Practical Hydrogeology, whom they had jointly worked with previously on water-related issues.

Although Mr. Puri is from India, his presentation focused on the fact that in Andalucía, Spain where currently he lives, there is just 14% the storage of surface reservoirs and it is a serious problem. He wonders why is it that governments around the world are looking at what to do and this made the presentation of Mercedes very important. There are many regions in the groundwater that are over-abstracted according to the grace project information available to Mr. Puri.

So what can we do? asked Mr. Puri.

Continued and presented his vision toward the solution as follows: “In governance, we first need to know our resources, then strengthen the institutions as a public good, who are the users? 

We need to empower them and give them some obligations to manage, conserve and recharge the water resource. Then we need to regulate wisely and then we say groundwater is invisible, but ‘it is visible‘ by the people use it and when it is used for economical benefits and sustainable livelihood, it is visible, he said. 

In his presentation, Mr. Puri compared the governance policies versus the utilization policies and the fundamental issue is for the users to give them advice and enhance their ability to utilize the water resource. 

Mr. Puri concluded his presentation by saying that we need to make the issues very explicit and some of these insights come from WPG, he asked Prof Olcay and Mercedes to be incorporated this idea at the next level.
Presentation

Moderator thanked to Mr. Puri and has moved to introducing the next panelist from South Africa, Phelisa Nkomo, Development Economist and Social Activist, and invited her for intervention about groundwater and the use and management of water in general.

Ms. Nkomo emphasizes her profession as a development economist and she chairs the board of OXFAM in South Africa, and summarized the water-related situation in her country as follows: 

In South Africa, we are very concerned about climate change, and particularly issues on water crisis, which are very critical and we are experiencing now. South Africa is a water-scarce country where in Cape Town there was a serious issue of water scarcity. 

Ms. Nkomo referred to the Constitution of South Africa that provides universal and equitable access to reliable water supply and sanitation services. Therefore, the State has an obligation to make sure that it meets some of these rights and treats its citizens accordingly, she said. 

Then presented a contrasting picture in her country that South Africa has massive infrastructure issues that are divided according to race with black areas lacking and white areas being okay as a result of apartheid. Then she has touched on the drought issue and warned of a 2019 increase in connection with migration, due to the issue of climate change in the form of drought in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, and another issue is locust in Somalia. Continued on the drought issue that might lead to food security issues and south Africa has lost 50% of its wetlands and there is a need for the management of groundwater, stated. Ms. Nkomo presented her idea toward a solution along with her residents’ struggles in water harvesting in the following line: “One of the key issues will be to shift water management to individuals and households from institutions to make them better understand the water crisis. South Africa has the highest usage of water per capita in terms of global consumption of about 34 liters per day. There is a complexity where municipalities are struggling to shift the trend to allow residents to do water harvesting aware of losing revenue and farmers and women are badly affected and the issue of water as a source of revenue has to be addressed.”

Moderator Prof. Olcay Ünver thanked to Ms. Nkomo and introduced one of his colleagues from Turkey, Dursun Yıldız, Director Hydropolitics Association, and invited him for his presentation, which titled, “Groundwater Turkey: Problems & Solutions“.

Mr. Yıldız provided some background and information about groundwater management problems and solutions from Turkey. The stress on water resources in Turkey is similar to other regions of the world. The aquifers have issues of urbanization, pollution, use of chemicals, and fertilizers. Groundwater management is managed in turkey by DSI.
There are 25 hydrological basins in turkey and the irrigable area is about an 8.5Million hectares 8% is irrigated where 75% is surface and 25% is from groundwater. Allocated 94% of groundwater has been done and they need much careful management of groundwater. Who uses the groundwater? Licensed individual farmers constitute 60% of users. Irrigation cooperatives use groundwater for about 500,000 hectares. Groundwater problems include operational problems. One solution is water metering which is not easy and has been postponed 4 times because of sociopolitical issues. Problems with groundwater in Turkey include over pumping. There is no data on how many wells are in operation to estimate the level of withdrawals of groundwater in Turkey. On groundwater contamination, Mr. Yıldız alerted that when it occurs, it often lasts a very long time as flow in aquifers are very slow, and the amount of water stored in most aquifers is large compared to their recharge. Thus, preventing groundwater contaminations must be privileged, rather than reacting after a contamination occurred.
In his presentation, Mr. Yıldız’s solutions on Network water losses are: There is a need for a modern irrigation system and land consolidation. Recommendations are that agricultural water uses be limited to modern irrigation systems, technology-based preventive measures, and sharing information for the calibration of satellite and modeling data.
Presentation

Moderator thanked to Mr. Yıldız and introduced of David Eduardo Guevara Polo, Water Sciences, Ph.D. Candidate Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico, and invited him for intervention:

According to Mr. Eduardo, the next day marks the plan of water for everyone in Montero, Mexico the 2nd largest city in Mexico. This plan addresses the current water shortages and on the supply side of water utility strategy, the efforts have focused on groundwater wells to close the water gap and reflect a global trend. Groundwater is invisible and we disregard its relationship with other water issues. There is a water and nature crisis and many of these issues are interconnected. Depletion and chemical pollution are problems and we approached them systemically. On the 2nd point, the issue is value. Some countries have pointed to human rights on water issues and indigenous communities make a spiritual standpoint. Others have made water an agricultural feature. When younger he was told that water is a renewable resource but now the water balance is negative. In Mexico, there is a tendency to look at aquifers as an inexhaustible issue. He is convinced that technology is critical for groundwater sustenance. He mentions that there will be no silver bullet and that there is a need for a balance between science, technology, and efficient institutions. There is also science diplomacy as an emerging trend in a transboundary context. There is a need for cooperation between countries to make this happen. Research and development are important and there is a need for coherence between different contexts and governments individuals and communities that all is to be greater than the individual sum itself.

Moderator thanked Mr. Polo and introduced from Nigeria Uwem Robert OTU, Representative, African Youth Movement to the United Nations Department of Global Communications, as the last panelist of the first session.

In Nigeria, there is Northern Nigeria which is semi-arid and has water shortages whereas the South of Nigeria has no problem with water quantity but rather a problem with the quality of the water. He made a generalized presentation and mentioned that groundwater is a reservoir and makes up to 90% of the liquid water that is not frozen and 2.5Billion globally rely on groundwater. Groundwater is now over abstracted and it is affected by pollution the challenges with it are seen as a local issue and we need a global holistic approach. To realize the potential of groundwater resources, we need to look at it from the development perspective as affects our health and urban environments. Many people depend on wells in many areas and urban groundwater reserves are often polluted with few institutions tasked with managing this resource and considering the interest of the vulnerable. Groundwater management is a prerequisite to ensure that it is a human right, said, Mr. Otu. Then asked the following question:

What can we do to preserve groundwater? 

His response and suggestion follow: We need to go native – use native grasses on our lawn. We should reduce the use of chemicals and manage them sustainably. We need to take steps to manage waste that percolate and pollute groundwater. We should not let water runoff to preserve extractions and we need to fix our drips. We need to limit the amount of water we use. Then we need to use natural alternatives when cleaning.
Presentation

Prof. Olcay Ünver and the Moderator of the First Session thanked to the keynote speakers Ambassador Carazo of Costa Rica and Ambassador Amde of Ethiopia along with the panelists, and concluded the first session of the 2022 World Water Day on “Groundwater”.

_ . _

Part I of 2

DESCRIPTION & PURPOSE of this Session: The theme of the 2022 World Water Day, “Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible” was decided during the 30th UN-Water meeting on 30 January – 1 February 2019, held in Rome, Italy.
The presented, “OUR GROUNDWATER: HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO MANAGE IT SUSTAINABLY?” titled virtual event contributed to the global conversation, making use of World Water Day (March 22) within the framework of the 2022 theme, “Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible”. 
The UN-Water Overview on “Groundwater Resources” underlines the fundamental roles of groundwater along with weaknesses and needs in connection with the Sustainable Development Goal-6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All.
Specifically, UN-Water emphasizes the importance of “Groundwater Resources” through the following key points, which were interwoven throughout the presentations:
• Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere.
• Out of sight, under our feet, groundwater is a hidden treasure that enriches our lives. 
• Almost all of the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater.
• As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical. 
• We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource.
• Groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind. 
(Source: https://www.worldwaterday.org/)
– Organized & Presented: The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization
Associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications | #LMGlobalOrg
– Sponsoring Mission: Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations | #CostaRicaONU
Description & Concept Note |  FLIER (pdf) |  BOOKLET with the Bios of the Speakers & Presenters