By Majirata Latela
The SADC Secretariat, through its Water Division, received a grant from the World Bank to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management in SADC Member States project which has been going on since 2016 and scheduled to end on 30 June 2021.
According to statement from the SADC Secretariat, the organsiation delegated the implementation of the project to the SADC-Groundwater Management Institute (SADC-GMI).
The project is financed through a USD8.20 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and a USD2.00 million grant from the multi-donor trust fund Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA). The project development objective is to support sustainable management of groundwater at national and transboundary levels across SADC Member States.
The project is aimed at improving human wellbeing, livelihoods, food security, ecosystems, natural habitats, industries and growing cities as research indicates that groundwater is the primary source of water for 70 percent of the 280 million people living in the SADC region’s rural areas.
However, groundwater issues do not feature prominently in national and international discourses. The Sustainable Groundwater Management in SADC Member States project sought to bring groundwater to the forefront in national and regional discourses.
