Groundwater resilience to climate change in Africa

This one-year DFID-funded research project aimed to improve the understanding of the resilience of African groundwater to climate change and links to livelihoods.

This is an area of science that has been under-researched, but has much relevance for the formulation of climate adaptation policies; see project background.

Groundwater provides most of the domestic water in rural Africa and supports poverty reduction through irrigation.

Reliance on groundwater is likely to increase as rainfall becomes more variable and demand for water becomes greater.

Download the Final Report

Download a summary of the project results in the Final Report (10 MB pdf)

Download the maps

Download the digital groundwater maps of Africa

Project objectives

The aim of the project was to improve understanding of the impacts of climate change on groundwater resources and local demand; there were three key objectives:

1. To strengthen the evidence base linking climate change, climate variability, aquifer resilience and livelihood vulnerability.
2. To support local and international research agendas and programmes, including the ability to collect and interpret data, and transform data into policy-relevant information and knowledge.
3. To develop evidence-based guidance on assessing how groundwater can support adaptation and build resilience to climate change.