Groundwater, often described as the “invisible lifeline,” plays a critical role in addressing water scarcity and strengthening adaptation to climate change. While we can see rivers and lakes, we do not often think about the vast reserves of water that support homes and provide reliable irrigation hidden beneath our feet. Yet, despite its importance, the sustainable management of groundwater continues to fall behind surface water. The results of this are concerning; groundwater is overused in some places and overlooked in others, pollution is a constant threat, and climate change is making these problems worse. All of these point to an urgent need for new ways of thinking and working collaboratively to find the ‘new normal’ in groundwater management.
Photo 1: Speakers and organisers of the groundwater session at World Water Week 2025 stand together following the panel discussions (Full session recording available at the end of this article).
In this context, the session “Groundwater: The Invisible Lifeline for Climate Action Adaptation” was held during the Stockholm World Water Week. Co-organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO IHP), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), and the GEF IW: LEARN, the hybrid session brought together international experts and GEF project implementers to explore how groundwater can serve as a strategic pillar for climate resilience through a set of innovative projects from Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean.
Five projects, which focus on different scales & are at different stages of implementation, were presented to share experiences & compare approaches. Two projects, The Mediterranean Sea Programme & Groundwater for aDvancing Resilience in Africa (G4DR) are regional in nature, with a set of case studies. Three projects – Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guarani Aquifer System (GAS), Dinaric Karst (Diktas) project and Kilimanjaro Water Tower – focus on a specific shared aquifer. Presentation of project experiences illustrated the benefits of cooperative governance frameworks, proactive data-sharing, and integrated solutions.
The Dinaric Karst project and the GAS project both highlight the benefits of cooperative groundwater governance and cooperation across borders. The Dinaric Karst project, which enabled the conclusion of a multilateral agreement between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro, seeking to harmonise monitoring protocols and protection zones, is an example of such cooperation, showing countries can overcome fragmented policies through developing shared frameworks and harmonisation. The GAS project carries a similar thread and demonstrates that political commitment and cross-country partnerships are vital for protecting shared water reserves, having delivered the first regional agreement on transboundary groundwater in Latin America. By linking shared monitoring networks to a regional information system, countries can establish a platform for cooperation that respects national priorities while advancing collective resilience.
The Mediterranean Sea Programme shared the difficulties of working with patchy or outdated information. In Lebanon, for example, teams were forced to digitize maps from the 1970s and rely on remote sensing and vulnerability mapping to track seawater intrusion and pollution risks, because of data availability constraints. These creative methods allowed decision-makers and municipalities to act despite the gaps that exist. The G4DR project in Africa, led by IWMI, is addressing data scarcity at a continental scale by developing a dashboard of groundwater opportunities and risks and by strengthening monitoring networks & practices in shared aquifers such as the Mono Basin in West Africa and the Shire Aquifer system in Southern Africa. Together, these innovations demonstrate that accessible data can empower both local communities and regional decision-makers.
In East Africa, the Kilimanjaro Water Tower project plans to pilot managed aquifer recharge schemes to capture rainfall in wet seasons for use in dry periods, directly responding to community concerns over declining flows and poor water quality; meaning that locals (indigenous people, youth, vulnerable communities) need to be engaged in monitoring and awareness activities, ensuring ownership of interventions.
The G4DR reinforces this approach, embedding youth and community engagement across relevant activities, including the structured gender assessments, which are informed by community focus groups. These processes have been used to understand how groundwater challenges affect vulnerable populations, women and men differently, harnessing key insights for monitoring and next-work designs, including planned borehole drilling & rehabilitation across the different landscapes of the project. Here, inclusion is not an add-on but a central design principle, essential to building legitimacy and long-term stewardship of the resource. By creating space for marginalised voices to be heard, the projects have made inclusion a central design principle, essential to building legitimacy and long-term stewardship of the resource.
The session at World Water Week confirmed that groundwater is far more than a hidden reserve; it is a decisive factor for water security and climate resilience, and the cases presented showed that inclusive governance, reliable data, and strong partnerships are not abstract ideals but practical necessities. As emphasized in the closing remarks from IW-LEARN, the knowledge gaps that leave decision-makers blind must be closed through robust monitoring and mapping. Governance frameworks must be strengthened because groundwater does not respect borders, and without shared arrangements, overuse and pollution will continue unchecked. Indeed, groundwater is no longer a silent backdrop. It is central to achieving global goals on water, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and climate, SDG 13 (Climate Action) and development. Good governance and regional collaboration form the backbone of effective groundwater management, and adaptation succeeds when technology, people, and creativity come together and when youth are empowered to lead. Scaling these lessons into action, through stronger partnerships, long-term investment, and shared accountability, will be critical to making the invisible lifeline truly visible for all.
Watch the full session recording from World Water Week 2025 below, featuring expert discussions and project presentations:
