More talks, better technology to improve groundwater monitoring in SE Asia

In South-East Asia, contaminated or compromised groundwater can have tremendous implications for millions who use it as a primary source of drinking water and to sustain livelihoods in areas such as agriculture. Too often, however, information on the state of this precious resource is sorely lacking. UNESCO Bangkok and partners are working together to fill that information gap via improved dialogue between countries and harnessing technology to improve data.

A workshop on groundwater monitoring in South-East Asia, from 15-16 March in Bangkok, brought experts from throughout the region together to advance these goals.

UNESCO Bangkok organised the workshop in partnership with Thailand’s Department of Groundwater Resources DGR) and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) under the framework of the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network (GGMN) programme. Forty-five groundwater specialists from six countries (Cambodia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) attended the workshop.

Country representatives shared their experiences on the current state of groundwater monitoring, information management and future challenges.

Experts from IGRAC, UNESCO-IHE and Dutch water consultancy Nelen & Schuurmans introduced the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network Programme and its possible role in South-East Asia, followed by a live demonstration of the GGMN Portal.

The use of time series analysis for groundwater monitoring data in the Netherlands was followed by a demonstration of the time series analysis tool available in the GGMN Portal and how to create spatially interpolated groundwater maps using the GGMN Portal. Experts also introduced the use of remotely sensed data for groundwater monitoring and the role of information technology and big data in groundwater research and management.

An interactive session focused on identifying the bottlenecks for proper groundwater monitoring and to translate some of those into additional developments for the GGMN Programme.

About GGMN:

Recognizing the lack of groundwater data around the world, IGRAC took the initiative to establish the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network (GGMN). The GGMN is a UNESCO programme, implemented by IGRAC and supported by many global and regional partners. The GGMN is a participative, web-based network of networks set up to improve quality and accessibility of groundwater monitoring information and subsequently our knowledge on the state of groundwater resources. The GGMN consists of a network of people and an interactive portal for storage, processing and dissemination of groundwater data. The national groundwater experts who attended the workshop will have the opportunity to take an active role in the GGMN’s People Network and to continue to use the GGMN interactive portal.