China: Groundwater Rehabilitation under a changing climate

In arid and semi-arid regions, reliable agricultural production is only feasible with irrigation. Groundwater, being the only water resource available all year round, is more and more under stress. Only under strict management, aquifers will be able to relieve droughts reliably. China severely suffers from this problem. Additionally, droughts and heat waves increased by climate change, impact on the availability of water. In order to guarantee the availability of water, particularly for food security, a groundwater management system must be established.

To strengthen the adaptation capacity to climate change  by supporting better groundwater management through real-time monitoring, modeling and controlling in areas under water stress.

• Poor farmers in the project pilot region, who have to pay more for groundwater pumping with increasing drawdown and whose income will suffer from climate variability.
• Local water user associations and water authorities, whose water management work will be made more efficient with better management tools.
• National research and policy advising institutes.

• Outcome 1 Providing the data and information base for real-time water allocation.
• Outcome 2 Developing and implementing an integrated real-time monitoring, modeling and controlling system to prevent groundwater depletion and build up adaptation capacity to climate change.
• Outcome 3 Policy options are elaborated through dialogues with the stakeholders and implemented by the local authorities.
• Outcome 4 Improved knowledge of using real-time monitoring, modeling and controlling system to prevent groundwater depletion for arid regions in developing countries.

Resultados de las fases anteriores:  

• The project structure has been set up with national and sub-national stakeholders.
• Project areas have been delineated.
• Data collection, base model set up, initial assessment of the current infrastructure and monitoring system, design of data base and data platform.

Fase 1 15.03.2014 - 31.07.2018   (Completed)