Ministries and UNESCO cooperate on projects for sustainable groundwater management

A joint field mission of two transboundary groundwater projects involving UNESCO, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology was held on 28–30 August in Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces.

According to a UNESCO press release dated September 3, these projects aim to address urgent groundwater management issues in the region, particularly in the districts of Svay Ontor in Prey Veng and Kampong Ro in Svay Rieng.

The release said the mission included extensive discussions with provincial and district stakeholders to assess the current status of groundwater resources, especially in agricultural areas that are heavily dependent on groundwater for irrigation. The team stressed that the projects will play a key role in addressing the impacts of climate change on water resources.

One of the two projects, “Groundwater Resources in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Collaborative Management to Enhance Resilience to Climate Change,” is funded by the Adaptation Fund (ADF) and will be implemented over four years in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to UNESCO, the aim of the project is to “improve the sustainable management and use of groundwater resources as an adaptive response to the impacts of climate change in the Greater Mekong Subregion.”

The second initiative, Enhancing Sustainability of the Transboundary Cambodia-Mekong River Delta Aquifer, is a five-year project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project focuses on ensuring environmental sustainability and water security in the Lower Mekong River Basin, with Cambodia and Vietnam as its main beneficiaries.

According to a release, the event, led by UNESCO in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), addresses the critical challenges of groundwater depletion and its impact on ecosystems.

The organisation said that during the field visit, the team met with local officials, including provincial and district governors, to collect key data and map utilization.

Groundwater in these districts is primarily used for irrigation, particularly for rice paddies, but over-exploitation has led to declining groundwater levels, further complicated by prolonged droughts and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change.

“The over-use of groundwater has led to a decline in its resources, making access to this key resource increasingly difficult and expensive,” the press release said.

UNESCO noted that both projects are still in their early stages and assessments are currently being conducted to determine groundwater availability, resilience potential and the impact of extraction on local ecosystems.

It said the findings would help develop sustainable management practices and support communities that depend on groundwater for their livelihoods.

The team also contacted farmers in the region to learn about their experiences with groundwater use, which is essential to developing practical solutions.