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Protecting groundwater from depletion in the SMAB

View from the Field:

Protecting

groundwater

from depletion

in the SMAB

“The main problem is that we are not “Water is fundamental for socioeconomic
L
anding Bojang is worried. tracking data for groundwater withdrawal. development, so access to water is
We are falling short of our obligations on pivotal,” he says. “The groundwater that
“If you have excessive groundwater the Sustainable Development Goals, lies below our feet is such a crucial
withdrawal to below the level of the especially indicator 6.4.2, which aims to resource, and it can supply water to
river,” says Bojang, “the river will dry up, ensure sustainable withdrawals and remote communities with less
which would be catastrophic for supply of freshwater to address water investment. It sustains the ecosystem
ecosystems and biodiversity and all scarcity and water stress,” he says. “We and keeps the river flowing because there
the services they provide.” do not have information on which sectors is connectivity.”
are using the water—whether for
Bojang, the chief hydrologist of The domestic use or commercial, industrial, or And, he says, because the SMAB
Gambia’s Department of Water agricultural purposes.” intersects with the Gambia River Basin
Resources in the Ministry of Fisheries, and the Senegal River Basin, “it is even
Water Resources, and National Safeguarding groundwater more critical.
Assembly Matters, adds, “This is how
critical the basin is.” so countries can develop “With the looming crisis of climate
ojang, 40, believes passionately in change, there will be increased
B
The basin he is focused on is the SMAB, the importance of water resources salinization of rivers, which also affects
which is shared by The Gambia, Guinea and their contribution to socioeconomic groundwater and will accelerate saltwater
Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal. CIWA is development for his country, which led intrusion into coastal aquifers.”
supporting the creation of a roadmap him to major in hydrology in college.
for the development of a joint vision Moreover, Bojang says, he’s very
and program to establish long-term He received his BSc degree in hydrology concerned about the effects of pollution
cooperation on the SMAB, which is and water resources engineering in and inadequate sanitation services on the
expected to ultimately lead to a charter 2013 from Hohai University in Nanjing, quality of water resources. “We need
governing its management. China and his MSc degree in water effective policies to regulate sanitation to
resources management in 2018 from avert groundwater pollution” coupled
“Excessive groundwater abstraction is the IHE Delft Institute for Water with awareness raising among the
already a concern,” Bojang says. Education in the Netherlands. communities, he says.

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