Resilience In Groundwater Supply Systems: integrating resource-based approaches with agency, behaviour and choice in West Africa (RIGGS)

Access to safe and reliable water supplies is a key goal across most of Africa. Groundwater reserves increasingly play a critical role in achieving this as part of resilient water supply services. Yet, risks of contamination and over-abstraction threaten to undermine the resilience of this supply. The rapidly rising trend for privately-developed wells and boreholes raises concerns about the vulnerability of water supplies to natural or man-made environmental shocks. However, the social, political and economic processes underpinning this are poorly articulated. The potential scale of the situation is particularly marked in Nigeria where the use of boreholes has increased exponentially since 1999 (from 10% of the population to 38% in 2015), with most other forms of water supply, notably piped tap water, falling.

Developing effective groundwater management approaches that build the resilience of communities is challenging, not least given the range of different actors involved, their competing interests and demands, and variations in the hydrogeological environment. Insights from resilience studies in social science emphasise how the resilience of ecological resources to shocks and change is critically linked to the adaptive capacity of social systems and their agents. Choices made now have long-lasting effects, yet these choices are little understood. Understanding the choices made by consumers, drillers and policy actors requires a strong interdisciplinary dimension and argues for new perspectives as to how the resilience of communities and societies might be built.

The project brings together a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between academics in the fields of economic geography, psychology, hydrogeology and journalism studies from the UK and Nigeria. The project will develop and test an innovative framework for understanding the interplay between environmental resources, social systems and behavioural choices affecting the resilience of groundwater supplies. It will do this through developing a mixed-methods approach that will be trialled in three pilot study areas in Nigeria. This will enable the study team to consider the role groundwater resources can play in building the resilience of communities to future potential environmental shocks; the risks posed by private abstraction trends to the resilience of communities to sudden or slow-onset environmental hazards; the role of different media in framing communities' understanding of groundwater resources, and individuals' and organisations' perceptions, choices and behaviour; and how perceptions, choice, behaviour and agency can influence (policy) actions to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance resilience.

The project builds on the published interests of the World Bank, UNICEF, WaterAid and other key actors in Nigeria and Africa. It will build links with these, and other, organisations to ensure that the project is relevant to their interests and can inform their future thinking. To maximise the effectiveness of the project we are working closely with the leading network operating in this area - the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN). This includes participation in the quinquennial RWSN Forum, a survey of RWSN members and webinars hosted by RWSN. These actions will extend the reach of the project and set a context for the findings of the pilot actions.

Overall, the project will strengthen knowledge for building the resilience of groundwater resources in the face of environmental hazards, through integrating resource-based approaches with a stronger appreciation of the influence of human agency. It will inform our understanding of the underlying drivers of disaster risk, how actions are incentivised in different contexts, the role of communications and media in influencing the choices and decisions being taken and the role played by multi-level governance actors in framing these choices through their policy actions.

The project has been designed with the involvement of organisations active in the field of water supply in Africa. This is a clear demonstration of the perceived demand for this research and its relevance to users and beneficiaries. There are five main non-academic groups who are likely to benefit from the research:

1) Development and Humanitarian agencies: The project will work with influential actors to deepen their understanding of the factors that contribute to developing resilience and the risks facing groundwater resources. Specific organisations include UNICEF, WaterAid, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. We have deliberately brought the network RWSN into the project through Skat Foundation as this enhances the potential impact of our work. They provide a credible means of engaging key actors, alongside the development of direct linkages with relevant bodies in Nigeria, the developing world and core humanitarian and donor bodies. This will assist in maximising the impact of the project beyond Nigeria.
2) Policy-makers and governments: Insights into risks and resilience in respect of groundwater resources will also be valuable for governance actors addressing community needs and supporting development. Key actors to be engaged include the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. Our activities are designed to engage key agencies, such as the AMCOW (African Ministers' Council on Water) secretariat (based in Nigeria) and will act to inform the developing agenda for African Water Week (2017). The project will influence discussion on policy, while promoting partnerships and informing the groundwater resilience agenda.
3) Drilling sector and water service providers: Providing improved understanding of the hydrogeological resources and risks affecting water supply and demand will assist private-sector organisations involved in water extraction and provision. Example organisations to benefit include the Nigerian Drillers Association (AWDROP) and the informal networks of manual drillers in the country.
4) Civil Society Organisations: Similarly, CSOs supporting community development and addressing poverty in developing regions will be supported through novel insights into how to increase resilience in these vulnerable territories. This will influence the effectiveness of CSOs in developing strategies to maximise the economic and social benefit of a resilient water supply.
5) Communities and households in developing countries: The public in ODA countries will benefit through greater understanding of environmental and social risks to provision of groundwater for meeting basic needs (e.g. drinking, and washing). Longer-term, policy and practice impacts through the engagement of all the groups listed above will have an impact on the availability, of a safe and reliable water supply in ODA countries.

The project also has strong international policy relevance in that it supports the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (particularly goals 6.1, 6.6 and 6.b), and Sustainable Development Goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It will also contribute to wider goals relating to the ending of poverty, climate change and ensuring healthy lives.