UPGro leading the groundwater governance and research debate at Africa Water Week

Africa Water Week is held every two years and this year brings it to Libreville, Gabon:

“The Africa Water Week (aww) is convened by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission and organized with other development partners. It represents a political commitment at the highest level with over 1000 participants from governments, regional institutions, international partners, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society, and the media from all over the world, and in particular Africa, meeting to discuss and collectively seek solutions to Africa’s water resources, and sanitation challenges.”

UPGro is proud to be a lead convener of Sub-Theme 3 on Water Governance, in partnership with AMCOW.

There will be two UPGro/AMCOW sessions at the week:

No. 10Thurs 1^st Nov 16.00 – 17.30	Title	Influencing Policy and Practice – the Africa Groundwater Commission and Research for Development
	Convener	AMCOW with UPGro (c/o Skat Foundation)
	Co-Convener(s)	UPGro is a programme of Universities and Research Institutions, together with the Africa Groundwater Network, International Association of Hydrogeologists, in partnership with country-level African water management institutions.
	Contacts	Dr Andrew Bullock (andybullock61@btinternet.com);
	Objectives	Based on its past and current status, AMCOW will present a future trajectory for the Africa Groundwater Commission. One key role will be to influence policy and practice around groundwater. UPGro will share experiences of Research for Development with a view to framing support to support operationalisation of the Commission.
	Description	The Africa Groundwater Commission is mandated by the African Union within the framework of the Africa Water Vision 2025 to help create “An Africa where groundwater resources are valued and utilized sustainably by empowered stakeholders”. On one hand, it is one arm of the established governance of the AU and AMCOW.The session will feature short presentations and panel discussion with leaders from research, government and international cooperation to highlight the key challenges for water management where stronger collaboration on bringing groundwater knowledge into policy and practice can deliver value through this established African instrument.

No. 7Thurs 1^st Nov 09.00 – 10.30	Title	Groundwater’s contribution to Africa’s Water Security
	Conveners	UPGro with AMCOW
	Co-Convener(s)
	Contacts	Dr Andrew Bullock (andybullock61@btinternet.com);
	Objectives	To establish the relevance of groundwater within the overarching trajectory of Africa’s water security – including the Africa Water Vision, the SDGs, and National Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategies. To complement an authoritative baseline, recent research will highlight how innovation remains important to unlocking knowledge of groundwater’s potential and limits.
	Description	The session will feature a keynote presentation on Groundwater’s contribution to water security. A convened panel (including representatives from the Africa Groundwater Network and AMCOW) will give their national, sub-regional and pan-African perspectives. An open floor will allow for additional perspectives from the floor.

We hope all those are coming to the conference will make time for these engaging and important sessions. Find out more on the Africa Water Week website: https://africawaterweek.com

Thank you to the AMCOW Secretariat for their support plus the many partners in many different national, regional and global agencies who have supported this initiative.

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