Namibia to host the 5th SADC Groundwater Conference

The Southern African Development Community Groundwater Management Institute (SADC-GMI), in collaboration with the Government of Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, and other regional and international partners, will host the 5th SADC Groundwater Conference, with the theme "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible for Socioeconomic Development."

The Conference aims to provide a forum for discussion on how to improve groundwater's contribution to sustainability and ecosystem services for socioeconomic development and climate change adaptation.

This is especially important in the SADC region, which faces numerous challenges that necessitate multifaceted solutions to address the numerous deficiencies at the household level.

The conference is scheduled for November 16 - 18, 2022, at Windhoek Country Club Resort, with a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person.

This summit will discuss the role of groundwater in providing and sustaining ecosystem services, the contribution of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) to livelihoods, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and improving access to water by strengthening governance frameworks.

The conference's main messages will contribute to the agendas of the Groundwater Summit in Paris in December 2022 and the UN-Water Conference in New York in March 2023. Highly regarded Keynote speakers and presenters will discuss the critical role of groundwater in socio-economic development in the SADC region and beyond, as well as provide solid scientific solutions.

According to Eng. James Sauramba, SADC-GMI Executive Director, groundwater is critical for socio-economic development, particularly in light of climate change, which has a negative impact on water and food security not only in the SADC region but globally.

Eng. Sauramba emphasized the need to elevate groundwater conversations particularly its contribution to poverty alleviation and food security. “SADC protocols and national policies and legislation don't talk much about operationalising mechanisms to recognise the significance of groundwater upon which about 70% of the population in the SADC region relies for their primary livelihood activities for resilience.”

SADC-GMI is a subsidiary structure of the SADC Secretariat launched in 2016 to raise the prominence of groundwater in national and regional policy, legal and regulatory frameworks. SADC-GMI gets its mandate from the Regional Strategic Action Plan (IV) on Integrated Water Resources 2016 – 2020.