(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 22 - Groundwater is abundant. At the
global level, only a quarter of all fresh water that we use
comes from underground sources and is potential is still mostly
untapped, said Michela Miletto, UNESCO World Water Assessment
Programme (WWAP) director, in a video message for the event
Pursuing the Human Right to Water.
The event was organised by CNF at the Italian pavilion of
Expo 2020 Dubai as part of World Water Day.
The director presented the main results of a UN and UNESCO
report on groundwater entitled "Making the Invisible Visible".
Miletto added that 69% of the extraction of groundwater is
for the agricultural sector, followed by 22% for domestic use,
and 9% for industrial uses.
She added that, while over the past 60 years some countries
have increased their use of groundwater significantly, in other
countries - especially in Africa - have yet to make full use of
it.
She underscored that the African continent rich in this
resource.
To use the full potential in a sustainable manner, she said,
a governance framework and management plans are needed to
monitor the extraction and avoid contamination.
Groundwater is a significant source of freshwater at the
global level in a world characterised by growing demand for
freshwater and where surface water resources are lacking ever
more, she stressed.
She called for greater efforts to managed and use this
resource in a sustainable manner. (ANSAmed).