Key organisations call for action on groundwater resource management

摘要

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization, UNESCO, World Bank, Global Environment Facility and International Association of Hydrogeologists have called for action by the global community to manage the increasingly urgent depletion and degradation of limited groundwater resources. The group proposed a set of principles governments can use for better groundwater management ahead of the 7th World Water Forum in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. In a statement, the World Bank said: 'For too long, groundwater governance has been an area of policy neglect, resulting in its degradation and depletion. Global groundwater abstraction has tripled over the past half century. More than a fourth of current withdrawal is non-sustainable. Widespread groundwater pollution is threatening humans and the environment. Most urban aquifers suffer from sanitation issues while coastal aquifers are exposed to saline water intrusion. Industrial pollution, pesticides and fertilizers also find their way into reservoirs.'