Sustainable Groundwater Resources in Africa

Empowering people, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods and promoting economic growth, while at the ensuring sustainable ecosystems, requires local, appropriate and widely replicable solutions. In the search for these, poor sanitation and poor water supply are major drivers in cycles of disease, poverty and powerlessness which avoid people in developing nations to escape poverty. Sustainable water supply is not only a matter of groundwater and sanitation-technical solutions, but as much implies tackling major issues concerning hydro-social and public health components. The African continent, has lagged behind other regions in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in water supply and sanitation, and continues to be a much neglected water resource. This volume disseminates investigations and pointers towards achieving sustainable groundwater supplies in challenging local community environments across the African continent. The first part presents the search integrated water, sanitation, hygiene delivery and best implementation practice. The second part, through a variety of case studies, illustrates the current status and pitfalls that hydrogeologists experience and highlights the relevant challenges that especially Sub-Saharan Africa still faces in this battle. The chapters present the current situation, best practices, challenges identified and directions developed by the authors in their advancement towards comprehensive solutions. For anyone involved with the development of water supply and sanitation in developing countries.

Prof. Yongxin Xu is a Senior Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of the Western Cape and the UNESCO Chairholder in Geohydrology. After brief academic jobs in China and UK, he came to South Africa in 1989 and spent most of his career in groundwater investigations for then Geological Survey and Water Affairs. He has taken up the position of the UNESCO Professor of Hydrogeology based at UWC since 2001. His research, mostly conducted together with his PhD students, has dealt with sustainable groundwater resources management, published more than 50 peer reviewed papers and three books in the areas of groundwater recharge, pollution and management. The scope of his research covers many facets of groundwater, including socio-economical, environmental and cultural, political and institutional issues. These diverse topics have provided multi-disciplinary research opportunities for many postgraduates at both PhD and MSc level. Having facilitated various international workshops and projects, he holds the position of Guest Professor at universities including China and Australia. He is a Commissioner of Africa Groundwater Commission for AMCOW, and the Secretary General of ChinAfrica Water Forum.