Part of the success in increased use of groundwater can be put down to organisations like the SADC Groundwater Management Institute that have helped countries contend with climate change through the harnessing of groundwater.
The regional organisation was launched two years ago in South Africa as a mechanism for implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Programme in member states of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
Speaking during the launch, South Africa’s Deputy Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Deborah Mochotlhi, said the institute would play a major role in bringing groundwater, a hidden resource, into to the limelight in the region’s development efforts.
“Groundwater issues have historically not been granted priority in projects and have been seen as ‘second best’,” she said. “That is slowly changing and initiatives like this will further change that perception.”