This statement comes from the Global GW Sustainability initiative: www.groundwaterstatement.org
This statement was drafted at the AGU Chapman conference on Aquifer Sustainability in Valencia, Spain in October, 2019. The statement is meant to raise awareness of the global importance of groundwater, encourage future international action-oriented initiatives and build momentum towards the 2022 UN World Water Day. We invite fellow scientists, practitioners and experts to sign on their own behalf.
The statement has no formal funding with participants freely volunteering time and support. The leadership team includes Tom Gleeson, Karen Villholth, Richard Taylor, Deb Perrone, Jay Famiglietti, David Hyndman, Anne van Loon and Yoshi Wada. The website and graphics team includes Rich Pauloo, Aakash Ahamed and Corey Scher, with infographics by Form New York. The communications team includes Mark Ferguson and Stefan Siepman.
This statement focuses on the global role of groundwater in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Framework for Action on Groundwater Governance, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It builds on previous important declarations and statements, including the Valencia declaration on Intensive Groundwater Use (2002), the Kampala statement on Groundwater and Climate in Africa (2008), ISMAR9 call to Action on Sustainable Groundwater Management Policy Directives (2016).