Stockholm World Water Week 2021: Two events with BGR participation

Dried-up wells, polluted springs and the overfertilisation of agricultural land leading to nitrate increases in groundwater - in large parts of the world, groundwater protection is causing major problems. But how to communicate to the public and policy makers the need for effective groundwater management to protect this vital resource?

Meeting of a neighbourhood group in Lusaka Source: BGR

This question was addressed by a BGR session entitled "How to make the invisible visible - Communication on groundwater" at this year's World Water Week in Stockholm, which was held for the second time as a digital event. Local partners from BGR projects in Zambia and Jordan presented successful examples from their day-to-day work, in which they succeeded in raising awareness among the population and politicians and achieving a sustainable change in groundwater management. Video clips from the projects in Jordan and Zambia can be seen on the BGR GeoChannel.

Another session with BGR participation at World Water Week presented the new groundwater programme of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW). Within the framework of this programme, BGR supports concepts for strategic planning and financing to make groundwater usable in African countries. The online event was held under the title "Spearheading a vision on groundwater resilience in Africa".

For almost 30 years, the World Water Week has been taking place in Stockholm, this time from 23 - 27 August under the motto "Building resilience faster". It is the annual exchange platform on global water issues with a special focus on development cooperation.