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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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APN-CAPaBLE Project on Groundwater Sustainability Featured in Water21

“Many Asian cities rely heavily on groundwater for domestic and industrial uses and economic development. The dependency on groundwater for potable water supply is more than 50% in cities like Bandung, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Tianjin and Kathmandu.” Thus cited Dr. Sangam Shrestha, assistant professor of the Water Engineering and Management of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), in “Global growth in groundwater abstraction: in search of sustainable solutions,” an article recently published by the International Water Association (IWA).

Dr. Shrestha serves as the project leader of the ongoing APN-funded Scientific Capacity Building/Enhancement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (CAPaBLE) Programme entiled “Enhancing the groundwater management capacity in Asian cities through the development and application of groundwater sustainability index in the context of global change” (CBA2013-06NSY-Shrestha). The projet aims to enhance understanding of policy makers and relevant stakeholders in selected Asian cities and develop their capacity to assess their situation of groundwater management through customisation and application of “groundwater sustainability index (GSI)” through e-conferences and regional workshops. Last January, the first regional workshop was held at AIT in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), International Research Center for River Basin Environment (ICRE) and University of Yamanashi, Japan. Experts from eight countries including Thailand, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nepal participated in the workshop.

Water21 is the official magazine of IWA which covers key developments and provides a global perspective in relation to the most important business, technology and environmental issues affecting the water sector.

For more information on how to access the featured article, please follow this link: http://www.iwaponline.com/w21/01602/w21016020020.htm