Economic and population growth worldwide are moving groundwater-the once so "invisible resource"into the headlines. More than 2 billion people worldwide depend on groundwater for their daily supply. A large amount of the world's agriculture and irrigation is dependent on groundwater, as are large numbers of industries. In developing countries, groundwater scarcity and pollution disproportionately affect the poor because they are often not able to keep up with sinking groundwater levels or to find alternative sources when their groundwater resource becomes polluted. But also in industrialized countries, the economic livelihood of entire regions depends on groundwater. Thus, from the southwestern United States, to Mexico, India, and northern China, local groundwater users and governments at all levels are realizing that the once so abundant and cheap groundwater resource is getting scarcer, increasingly polluted and thereby affecting options for social and economic growth and development. It is consequently important to think about the underlying issues that prevent effective groundwater management and how to tackle them. Addressing groundwater issues from a technical perspective alone-as has been tried unsuccessfully in a number of cases-is clearly not sufficient, and the role for improved groundwater management in addressing this situation is becoming increasingly obvious. Consequently, many countries are actively moving from laissez-faire approaches where each individual could abstract from his or her source, at will, to managed approaches, involving groundwater users and developing a variety of instruments to improve groundwater and aquifer management. This is a clear shift in groundwater management approach, stepping away from laissez-faire and towards active aquifer management.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished.

No abstract