WaterAid multi-country research on water security: HSBC Water Programme

Analysis of groundwater resource and governance in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nepal and Nigeria

Reliable access to water is a human right, vital to fulfilling our basic needs. The availability of water resources and water supply services to abstract, treat and supply water to households is fundamental to water security. Groundwater is especially important to domestic water supplies, which underpin livelihoods and contribute to resilience to shocks from infectious disease and the impacts of climate change on water.

The HSBC Water Programme, launched in 2012, was a collaborative partnership with Earthwatch, WaterAid and WWF. The eight-year US$150 million programme tackled global water challenges through an integrated approach to water provision, protection, education and scientific research in more than 40 countries. The Water Security Research, discussed in this synthesis report, was undertaken as part of our contribution to the Programme.

The focus of this research is on groundwater security in five countries where we work that implemented projects under the HSBC Water Programme: Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nepal and Nigeria. These countries depend heavily on groundwater for rural water supply, irrigation and industrial supply, and as an important component of urban water supply. This research explores the threats and risks to water resources, and the political economies and institutional environments that constrain or enable effective water governance and management.