Droughts often lead to enormous pressure on the finite groundwater resources, both from domestic and commercial users. As we all know, Kenya is currently experiencing a major drought which has put millions of people and livestock at risk, with 1.3 million people in need of food aid in northern coastal regions. The impacts of the drought have also been felt here in Kwale, where water sources have dried up in Lungalunga and Kinango causing 200,000 people to suffer famine. The large economic investments like mining and agriculture have felt the impact through the diminishing surface water resource and groundwater table. The most vulnerable include poorer populations, schools and health centres. Working together with all stakeholders, the Gro for GooD project is advancing the development of a groundwater risk management tool that will help address such risks to groundwater security and livelihoods. The groundwater risk tool will help decision-makers to improve groundwater governance, balancing economic growth and groundwater sustainability for domestic and commercial users in pursuit of the wider goal of poverty reduction.
We would like to thank the local communities of Kwale County, Water Resource User Associations (WRUA), Kwale County Government, Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), Base Titanium Ltd., Kwale International Sugar Company Ltd. (KISCOL), the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), Rural Focus Ltd. (RFL), the University of Oxford, the Grupo de Hidrología Subterránea of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the University of Nairobi (UoN), the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for their continued support towards the development of the groundwater risk management tool.
UPGro - African Groundwater 2020 