On the Water Front

Selected tag(s): corporate water stewardship

Observations from World Water Week: Indigenous voices gain center stage; groundwater remains largely overlooked

Aerial view of audience and stage at World Water WeekLast month EDF co-hosted a side event at World Water Week in Stockholm with an ambitious goal: to catalyze collaboration around a global movement to tackle the groundwater crises affecting many regions of the world.

The event, co-hosted with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WELL Labs, addressed the need to raise the profile of the groundwater crisis at international water and climate change convenings like World Water Week, particularly given groundwater’s importance to food security, community health and livelihoods.

Despite the limited attention on groundwater at World Water Week, we observed other encouraging shifts at the conference this year, including the elevation of Indigenous voices and a greater focus on the connections between water resilience and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Here is a deeper look at these World Water Week highlights.

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Data-Driven Solutions for India’s Groundwater Crisis: The Role of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Gathering accurate data as close as possible to the desired impact area of a water management project is a critical part of an effective Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning program. Here, Avinash Shivji Pande and Lakshmikantha NR — from EDF’s partner WELL Labs — collect data from a recharge pit in Jalna, Maharashtra. Read more about this particular intervention.

As groundwater depletion accelerates amid climate change and growing agricultural demands, integrating Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) into water management strategies can safeguard India’s water security and resilience.

Groundwater has sustained human societies for thousands of years, serving as a critical shared resource. However, the current rate of extraction — driven largely by climate change, population increase, and intensified irrigation — is outpacing recharge rates worldwide. At the same time, groundwater irrigation has proven essential for food security, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation, particularly in countries like India. Agriculture alone consumes roughly 90% of India’s groundwater, not only supporting domestic food security but also making India a major player in global food exports.

This reliance, however, comes at a significant cost. Over-extraction is leading to diminishing societal benefits, reflected in declining agricultural productivity, decreased adaptive capacity at the community level, and worsening water quality. Without effective adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-related water impacts are projected to lower global GDP by mid-century, with the heaviest losses expected in low- and middle-income countries. Read More »

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