United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO) the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the water sector have agreed to work toward improving groundwater governance for the achievement of sustainable water security for human settlements in Nigeria.
Regional Director, UNESCO Dakar Regional Office and Officer in Charge of Abuja Regional Office, Dimitri Sanga, notes that finite resources such as groundwater and other natural resources play significant role in supporting ecosystems, livelihoods, human communities and agriculture.
He made this known at a Two-day inception workshop on Improving Groundwater Governance Towards Achieving Sustainable Water Security and Human Settlement in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.
He said “Most rural and urban human settlements in Africa and indeed Nigeria are dependent on groundwater because it is locally available, drought resilient and has quality requiring minimal treatment”
Represented by the Head of Science Sector, UNESCO office, Abuja, Dr. Enang Moma, he said “It is envisaged that the implementation of the sub-project will improve Knowledge based Management and governance of groundwater resource to support Nigeria in achieving sustainable water security for human settlements as well as build resilience.”
Director General, National Water Resource Institute, (NWRI), Kaduna, Professor Emmanuel Adanu, the world is recognising the importance of groundwater due to its importance to human living.
He explained that the key terms under discussion are groundwater, Governance which consists social, economic, political and environmental while the other key words are sustainability and water security which refers to its availability, good quality among others.
Participants observed that scientific report shows that the nature of groundwater makes it highly suited to disperse water for populations and most human settlements, be it rural or urban.
The workshop aims to proffer lasting solutions to the achievement of set strategy and well defined goals and objectives that will ensure the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal six, by Nigeria come 2030.
