RECHARGE

Transcript

Over half of the global population depends on groundwater for survival. It's a vital resource that underpins the human right to water and drives economic and human development. Yet, in many regions around the world, groundwater is poorly understood and minimally managed. In the face of climate change, how can we ensure equitable and sustainable groundwater use?

That's where the RECHARGE project comes in. RECHARGE is a research project investigating and addressing groundwater challenges in Asia and the Pacific. We worked in three key contexts: the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, urban Indonesia, and islands in Vanuatu.

In Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, groundwater sustains livelihoods and domestic use. In Indonesia, it provides an essential resource for tens of millions of urban households. And in Vanuatu, while most rely on rainwater, groundwater holds untapped potential as a climate-resilient source of drinking water.

Across these regions, groundwater faces a range of threats, from saltwater intrusion and over-extraction in Vietnam's coastal areas, to contamination from poor sanitation in Indonesia's cities, and limited accessibility for vulnerable groups in Vanuatu. Climate change compounds these challenges, threatening the availability and quality of groundwater, and worsening inequalities in access to water and sanitation.

Sustainable groundwater stewardship is vital for building climate-resilient communities and supporting human development. By using groundwater wisely and addressing contamination risks, this resource can deliver safe drinking water, sustain livelihoods, and drive prosperity.

Erie Samy: Like the saying goes, you can't manage what you don't measure. So, we are hoping that our regulations, our data collection system can provide the data we need to manage our groundwater resources. From source to consumer, we currently have a program we call Drinking Water Safety and Security Planning. So, this addresses risk to water quality. And not only is this something that the communities are doing, it's something that all water providers are doing. It's legislated.

More than half of Indonesia's urban population rely on groundwater for drinking or domestic purposes. Our research highlights how these groundwater sources are highly vulnerable to contamination, including from nearby sanitation facilities. Yet expanding piped water supplies and convincing households to connect remains a challenge.

Cindy Priadi: More than half of the population in Indonesia, which is around 90 million, three times the population of Australia, uses groundwater for domestic use. And a quarter of the population uses it for drinking water.

You want to think about how you protect the groundwater, but also how you protect the sanitation system so it doesn't leak to the environment. So, it needs to follow better construction standards, be sealed. And in the longer term, we need to think about how we expand the piped water network. It needs a lot of investment because people want safe and reliable service.

Our research brings together engineering, environmental and social sciences, local knowledge and practical expertise to identify solutions.

In Indonesia, we have worked closely with government partners to understand how sanitation systems impact groundwater quality, to identify the cities most at risk from groundwater contamination, and to co-develop behaviour change approaches to shift household choices towards safer water sources.

In the Pacific, we have generated new evidence on the potential for solar-powered groundwater systems to provide more equitable access to water. And we supported cross-learning across Melanesian countries.

In the Mekong Delta, we have collaborated with stakeholders to reveal how groundwater is central to a complex social, environmental and economic system.

In all three places, the work has underscored the importance of groundwater as a resource that can help build a more resilient, equitable and prosperous future.

Nguyen Anh Minh: I hope that in the future we can build a good strategy for everybody to access the groundwater, thinking about how we can have a good investment come from other projects. So, based on that, we will create a good infrastructure to supply the groundwater for agriculture and also for daily activity for each household in the Mekong Delta.

Groundwater is a lifeline for billions. Its immense value has led to overexploitation in many parts of the world, but in some areas its potential remains untapped. By prioritising sustainable management, we can harness groundwater to combat the climate crisis, drive prosperity and ensure equitable access to water for all.