Southern African Development Community (SADC) Groundwater and Drought and Drought Management Project communications and events officer, Barbara Lopi said the direct effect of climate change on groundwater resources depends on the change in the volume and distribution of groundwater recharge. She said that climate change is among the topics to be discussed at a two-day conference on groundwater in the SADC integrated water resources management (IWRM) initiative to be held from 18 to 19 November 18 to 19 in Gaborone.
The conference, jointly organised by SADC, the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) and the German Development Cooperation (GTZ), will discuss groundwater and related issues in the SADC region and develop a framework for the integration of groundwater into the IWRM approach. Lopi said that groundwater resources are likely to be relatively robust in the face of climate change compared with surface water due to the buffering effect of groundwater storage.
