UNESCO to host introductory webinar to the online course on Groundwater Modeling in Transboundary Basins
UNESCO will host an introductory webinar to the online course on Groundwater Modeling in Transboundary Basins on 12 November 2020 via the Zoom platform. The online course will be launched on 14 December 2020 on the UNESCO Open Learning Platform.
The webinar is being held in the context of the Governance of Groundwater Resources in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) project Phase 3 (2019-2022) whose objective is to strengthen regional stability, cooperation and peace through the establishment of cooperative frameworks for transboundary groundwater governance in River Basin Organizations (RBOs), Regional Commissions (RCs) and selected aquifers systems in Africa.
This webinar is a first “introductory” step to explore the potential use of numerical models as powerful tools in (ground)water resources management, through the exposure of the participants/attendees on recent progresses and future directions on groundwater modelling, focusing on the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System. Following introductory remarks from Dr. Alice Aureli, the Chief of Section on Groundwater Systems and Settlements from UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrology Programme (IHP), Prof. Marc Leblanc from the University of Avignon will deliver an introduction to groundwater modelling in transboundary basins.
The utilization of water resources in transboundary aquifers is continuing and expanding globally, while little attention has been given towards addressing the sustainability challenges related to transboundary groundwater resources faced by many river basins. Particularly pressing challenges are balancing surface water and groundwater water uses and preventing the risks of large-scale groundwater quality degradation, contributing to the achievement of the SDG 6 of the Agenda 2030. In many countries, there is the additional need to create qualified technical capacity among all stakeholder groups to develop and implement sound policies and strengthen groundwater resource governance regimes at national and regional levels. For this, groundwater modelling can be a powerful instrument which might also open new development perspectives and present attractive opportunities for coping with the looming threats of climate variability and change.