Why aquifers ?
Groundwater resources are stored in aquifers. They account for 96% of freshwater on earth, excluding glaciers and ice caps. Furthermore, they provide drinking water for half of the world's population. It also maintains riparian and wetland ecosystems during dry periods. Despite the invaluable ecosystem services, aquifers face multiple threats, such as depletion from overuse and pollution from industry and agriculture.
Consequently, groundwater management is key to the sustainability of hydrosphere. There are growing concerns about local governance of groundwater reserves as not all local institutions or systems have the same level of success. The main goal of this FORMAS project is to study the success and failure of seemingly local self-governing institutions for groundwater management in northern areas of Colombia in the midst of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Is there groundwater governance in Colombia ?
Colombia is a rich country in water reserves. Colombia has around 5848 km3 of groundwater reserves, with 52% located in the Amazon and the Orinoquia provinces. In the same line, Colombia has over 31702 known wetlands. The immense stock of superficial and groundwater is central to regulate the climate and its biodiversity wealth. Yet, its distribution is uneven, making it a formidable governance challenge. The Institute for Hydrology, Metereology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) has characterized the aquifer systems in the country and its dynamics with superficial water. Still, few studies have explored the linkages between water, climate and biodiversity in relationship to aquifer systems in rural and dry areas. Indeed, more data is needed to talk about groundwater governance and to understand the true state of groundwater reserves, the maintenance of ecosystems and the human impact on its sustainability.
Aquifers as a Common Pool Resources and Provider of Ecosystem Services
Groundwater resources are a Common Pool Resource (CPR), where several users are entitled to its use. However, the resource is usually overexploited because governance is insufficient or ineffective. The invisible nature of groundwater, the slow recharge rates, the open access, among others, are some factors that made governance challenging. The negative social, economic and environmental impacts of global over-exploitation of groundwater reserves have increased with the demand for water. These impacts, which are accelerated by climate change, outlines the need for action by governments and resource users. Examples of water crises are many, but most of them refer to cities such as Cape Town in South Africa, Sao Paulo in Brazil, and Beijing in China.
Groundwater governance implies a more integrated approach than water management as it considers the interactions among structures, processes and traditions that determine how power and responsibilities are exercised, how decisions are taken, and how stakeholders have their say. Indeed, poor governance is partly attributed to the failure of decision makers - they may be policymakers or resource users - to consider the values, beliefs, goals, social and personal norms and local practices and the distributional impacts of interventions in the decision-making process.