Webinar: Groundwater Recharge – A Key Component for Sustainable Aquifer Management, with a Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.
Information on groundwater recharge (the rate at which aquifers are being replenished) is required to sustainably manage this resource. Recharge rates provide an upper limit to the long-term rates at which groundwater can be sustainably extracted for human and agricultural uses. With a growing need for food production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), small- and large-scale irrigation schemes are increasingly being developed and mainly from groundwater sources, highlighting that renewability is central to sustainable management of the resource.
This webinar, organized by the University of Texas, Austin, USA, and UHL & Associates, Inc., New Jersey, USA, covers many aspects of groundwater recharge in one and a half hours, with a 30– 45 minute question and answer session. The panel, Dr. Bridget Scanlon (University of Texas), Mr. Richard Healy (United States Geological Survey) and Mr. Vincent Uhl (UHL & Associates, Inc.), has a broad background in the SSA region from many perspectives, including research, on-the-ground field studies, and remote sensing analysis.
The webinar illustrates the importance of recharge in natural systems, discusses some widely used estimation methods, and demonstrates the application of methods and uses of recharge estimates in projects in SSA.
The webinar is intended for the following:
- National government water agencies and irrigation departments.
- Technical experts in lending agencies (e.g., World Bank; African Development Bank; International Finance Corporation; United Nations agencies).
- Donor agencies (e.g., United States Agency for International Development [USAID]; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [FCDO]; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency [Sida]; Danish International Development Agency [Danida]; Japan International Cooperation Agency [JICA]).
- Nongovernmental organizations and consulting firms.
