Leveraging

rural growth and development through

managed groundwater use


Seifu Kebede, PhD
Isotope Hydrogeology/Geochemistry
School of Earth Sciences
Addis Ababa University

seifukebede@yahoo.com

Presenta5on outline

Introduc5on: water for development, water for security
The why and how of groundwater?
Where to intervene to bring about the needed leverage?
Outlooks

1. Introduc5on
Security
narra5ve of
(ground)water:
Water security is
food security
and food
security is
na5onal security

WEF global risk report, 2015

1. Introduc5on
Development
narra5ve of
(ground)water:
Water is GDP

2. Why groundwater?
Why groundwater???paradigm shiI around this resource?

The ruined landscape concept social funcLon of groundwater
Water supply (industry, urbanizaLon, domesLc etc, self supply)
Emergency response
Income generaLon, rural poverty reducLon, agriculture producLon
Market and investment opportuniLes
Buering rainfall seasonality, moderator of global climate change
Human health (principal pathways of parLcles)

2. Why groundwater?

Social funcLon of groundwater
T h e r u i n e d l a n d s c a p e
concept (Helland, 1980)
L a n d a n d w a t e r o r
alternaLvely pasture and
water is inseparable landscape
f e a t u r e f o r t h e B o r e n a
pastoralists
Ella well from Borena, Ethiopia

2. Why groundwater?
Centralized water
s o u r c i n g ,
d e c e n t r a l i z e d
development
UrbanizaLon
Satellite ciLes and
distributed water
sourcing
D e a l i n g w i t h
s t a L o n a r y
emergency-rapid
development
IndustrializaLon

2. Why groundwater?
Dealing with drought
emergency
GW for refuge
camps
Water supply for IDP

Wash Strategy Report for Somali Region, USAID Report

Why groundwater?
NarraLve from SE Asia: Groundwater is democraLc water- HH food
security; NB- rapid hidden revoluLon

Why groundwater?
Income generaLon, household food security and at scale increasing
agriculture producLon

2. Why groundwater?
Income generaLon, household food security and at scale increasing
agriculture producLon

2. Why groundwater?
Market and investment opportuniLes/innovaLons/Jobs

2. Why groundwater?
Market and investment opportuniLes/innovaLons/Jobs for rural youth
and entrepreneurs

2. Why groundwater?
Buering rainfall
seasonality and long term
drought

Coulter et al., 2009

2. Why groundwater?
Link to human
health

G W i s t h e
p a t h w a y f o r
parLculates to get
t o h u m a n
metabolism
B oth deciency
and excess in the
above

The state of groundwater irriga5on poten5al

IRRIGABLE LAND POTENTIAL (ILaP) vs. AVAILABLE LAND FOR IRRIGATION

1. Opportunity exists
2. Highly risky (NB: the Water Bank Initiative in Ethiopia)

2. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to opportuni5es

Is case/context specic

1. Knowledge of the resource base and its intrinsic characterisLcs
2. Economics and nancing
3. InsLtuLons, InsLtuLonal innovaLon, capacity and skills
4. Technology access and liIing
5. RegulaLon and governance
6. Drivers- local and global context

2. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
1. Knowledge of the resource base and its intrinsic characterisLcs- the
entry point
What is depth to water table?
W h i c h t e c h n o l o g y t o m a p Is the water quality suitable?
groundwater?
What will be impact of climate
How much water can I
c h a n g e o n g r o u n d w a t e r
draw? Renewable?
availability?
Is the resource renewable?
What is the risk of over exploitaLon?
How much is the renewable
Shallow or deep drilling- depth
resources?
segregated yield informaLon?
What is the storage property of the aquifer?
What is the ecological risk associated with development?
NB: 1. Uncertainty in hydrology/hydrogeology vs policy
ar5cula5on

2. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
1. Knowledge of the resource base and its intrinsic characterisLcs-
the entry point

3. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
1. Knowledge of the resource base and its intrinsic characterisLcs-
the entry point; GhegoizaLon to integraLon

2. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
2. Economics and nancing- NB: its link to technology

The kind of micro credit system well known in SE Asia is yet to be

exercised in Rural Ethiopia/Africa

3. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
3. InsLtuLons, InsLtuLonal innovaLon, capacity and skills

A JICA study

3. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
3. InsLtuLons, InsLtuLonal innovaLon, capacity and skills- when
insLtuLons are strong achievements are high, eg the WASH sector
in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has just
met the MDG goal
on WASH, last
week!!
Thanks to
investment and
wash institutions!!
Under the PBS
and aid
effectiveness
umbrella

3. Where to intervene? Leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
4. Technology access, liIing, appropriateness, funcLonality,

3. Where to intervene? leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es

5. RegulaLon and governance

Groundwater development in SE Asia was a hidden revoluLon!

The dilemma is:

RegulaLon sounds anL-development in some context (economics)
AllocaLon rights- Challenging to implement/tragedy of the
commons

3. Where to intervene? leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
ATA report, 2014

Well spacing tool

Dug well development tool
Access and liIing technology

3. Where to intervene? leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
ATA report, 2014

Well spacing tool

Dug well development tool
Access and liIing technology

3. Where to intervene? leveraging the promise to

opportuni5es
6. Drivers local and internaLonal

Policy response to major international drivers

1960s push for mechanizaLon of agriculture in Ethiopia

1970s communism and land to Lllers slogan and naLonalizaLon of
large farms, cooperaLves, land owned by government used by
farmers
1980s mixed economy around the Berlin wall fall
1990s- Sustainable Development and Poverty ReducLon Strategy
2000s- Plan for accelerated and sustainable development to end
poverty
2010s- Growth and TransformaLon Plan- now groundwater has rm
policy standing
Post 2015: CRGE, interfacing CRGE policy in water sector-
groundwater for resilient growth

4. Outlooks

1. Linking SLMP with Water Resources

2. The Water-food-energy nexus
3. Building ins5tu5ons

4. Outlooks

Thank you