Ground water in rural development facing the challenges of supply and resource sustainability

Groundwater is of major importance to rural development in many countries of the world. As a result of its widespread distribution, low development-cost and generally excellent quality, it has been the fundamental resource allowing the rapid development of improved domestic water supplies for the rural population and in many areas has also supported a major increase of highly-productive agricultural irrigation. Groundwater resources are thus vital for meeting an array of basic needs, from public health to poverty alleviation and economic development. As a result of the high rated of abstraction required for irrigation, however, in some areas there is significant concern about sustainability of the resource base, because of falling groundwater tables and near-irreversible aquifer deterioration through saline intrusion. There are also additional sustainability concerns as a result of the increasing incidence of groundwater pollution from over-intensive or inadequately managed agricultural cultivation practices. This paper is based on review of the evolving situation during the 1990s in a substantial number of developing nations. It aims to raise awareness of the key linkages between groundwater and rural development, and to identify appropriate technical and institutional approaches for improving the operational reliability of waterwheels and the sustainability of groundwater resources as a whole. To achieve this will require recognition that hydrogeologic and socioeconomic diversity necessitates a flexibility of management response.