Towards better management of groundwater resources - lessons from an integrated capacity building project in the Indo-Gangetic and Yellow River basins

It is increasingly recognized that human capacity is a major shortfallwhen it comes to addressing pressing challenges of groundwater management in Asia. Here, the bulk of this subsurface resource is extracted for irrigation purposes with extensive, but increasingly threatened, poverty alleviation impacts. A half-year training and research programme was carried out for the capacity building of professionals involved in groundwater management in two major river basins under water stress, the Indo-Gangetic and Yellow River basins in south Asia and China, respectively. The programme specifically addresses the five countries of India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. The objective of the programme was to enhance the capacity of groundwater managers in the region through interactive and inter-disciplinary training and research activities. The aimwas to contribute to a better understanding of the groundwater challenges and devising ways and means of confronting those challenges.