Building understanding of climate variability into planning of groundwater supplies from low storage aquifers in Africa - Second Phase (BRAVE2)
Lead Research Organisation:
British Geological Survey
Department Name: Groundwater
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Planned Impact
BRAVE2 will have a positive impact, both through the process of conducting the research and the outputs, on the following sets of beneficiaries.
RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE VOLTA RIVER BASIN (VRB)
Rural smallholder farmers (SHF) will have the opportunity to access, input to, and benefit through their livelihoods from the research. They will be supported to consider development options and pathways for sustainable groundwater use, access and distribution, which will enhance productive (agricultural) and WASH outcomes.
AFRICAN WATER SUPPLY-RELATED DECISION-MAKERS
brave2 has very close links with its primary user community of resource planners and government policy makers (e.g. Ghana Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture, Burkina Faso Direction Générale des Ressources en Eau) to ensure long-term commitment to provisioning accessible information and promoting adaptive capacity through improved regional integrated decision tools for groundwater management. Training & capacity building will be tailored to user groups' specific needs, and the project will empower these groups through participation in networks for appropriate information. Participatory methods to develop new tools will ensure people act as researcher-advocates and contribute to policy uptake by providing practical evidence to inform policy support for SHF. Local/sub-national governments in both countries now have devolved responsibilities for provision of support services and so will also benefit from an improved evidence base to design interventions.
INTERNATIONAL & BILATERAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
These will benefit from robust quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform their programmes of support to national innovation support systems (including advisory services, SME promotion, regulatory frameworks). Those active in this area will be invited to participate in the high-level BRAVE2 Learning Platforms
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Our close collaborations with NGO partners (e.g. Christian Aid Sahel, CARE Ghana) who are active in supporting SHFs will help influence their livelihood programmes and provide an improved evidence base to inform their own interventions and modes of working with farmer groups.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) & MEDIA
CSOs, and national/sub-national farmer organizations in both countries, will benefit from evidence to support their lobbying for improved water services for SHF. Some farmer organisations also provide innovation support services of their own (e.g. Uganda National Farmers Federation - UNFFE) and will be able to use the project findings to enhance their service provision. Engagement throughout with CSOs and the media (e.g. Farm Radio) will raise awareness of the research process and outcomes, such as planning information and decision tools. They will also benefit, along with academic stakeholders, from exposure to research and analytical methods that will inform their future investigation and commissioning of research in this area. These initiatives will contribute to improved and sustainable relationships between policy makers and planners and those working with rural communities, setting a platform for longer-term collaboration which is a critical factor in successful future ground water management.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES & MET SERVCES
BRAVE2 has very close links with its primary user community of weather and climate forecasters and hydrologists/hydrogeologists, and the decision-makers who use such forecasts, through our formal project partners (GMet, Meteo-Burkina, WRI, Uni. of Ouagadougou & the Institut d'Application et de Vulgarisation en Sciences). These and other national and international research institutes in the region will have access to a richer understanding of the impacts of climate variability on groundwater resource management and how this leads to innovation in practice in the smallholder sector.
RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE VOLTA RIVER BASIN (VRB)
Rural smallholder farmers (SHF) will have the opportunity to access, input to, and benefit through their livelihoods from the research. They will be supported to consider development options and pathways for sustainable groundwater use, access and distribution, which will enhance productive (agricultural) and WASH outcomes.
AFRICAN WATER SUPPLY-RELATED DECISION-MAKERS
brave2 has very close links with its primary user community of resource planners and government policy makers (e.g. Ghana Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture, Burkina Faso Direction Générale des Ressources en Eau) to ensure long-term commitment to provisioning accessible information and promoting adaptive capacity through improved regional integrated decision tools for groundwater management. Training & capacity building will be tailored to user groups' specific needs, and the project will empower these groups through participation in networks for appropriate information. Participatory methods to develop new tools will ensure people act as researcher-advocates and contribute to policy uptake by providing practical evidence to inform policy support for SHF. Local/sub-national governments in both countries now have devolved responsibilities for provision of support services and so will also benefit from an improved evidence base to design interventions.
INTERNATIONAL & BILATERAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
These will benefit from robust quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform their programmes of support to national innovation support systems (including advisory services, SME promotion, regulatory frameworks). Those active in this area will be invited to participate in the high-level BRAVE2 Learning Platforms
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Our close collaborations with NGO partners (e.g. Christian Aid Sahel, CARE Ghana) who are active in supporting SHFs will help influence their livelihood programmes and provide an improved evidence base to inform their own interventions and modes of working with farmer groups.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) & MEDIA
CSOs, and national/sub-national farmer organizations in both countries, will benefit from evidence to support their lobbying for improved water services for SHF. Some farmer organisations also provide innovation support services of their own (e.g. Uganda National Farmers Federation - UNFFE) and will be able to use the project findings to enhance their service provision. Engagement throughout with CSOs and the media (e.g. Farm Radio) will raise awareness of the research process and outcomes, such as planning information and decision tools. They will also benefit, along with academic stakeholders, from exposure to research and analytical methods that will inform their future investigation and commissioning of research in this area. These initiatives will contribute to improved and sustainable relationships between policy makers and planners and those working with rural communities, setting a platform for longer-term collaboration which is a critical factor in successful future ground water management.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES & MET SERVCES
BRAVE2 has very close links with its primary user community of weather and climate forecasters and hydrologists/hydrogeologists, and the decision-makers who use such forecasts, through our formal project partners (GMet, Meteo-Burkina, WRI, Uni. of Ouagadougou & the Institut d'Application et de Vulgarisation en Sciences). These and other national and international research institutes in the region will have access to a richer understanding of the impacts of climate variability on groundwater resource management and how this leads to innovation in practice in the smallholder sector.
Organisations
- British Geological Survey (Lead Research Organisation)
- Makerere University (Collaboration)
- Ministry of Water Affairs (Collaboration)
- International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (Collaboration)
- Addis Ababa University (Collaboration)
- West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Ghana (Collaboration)
Publications
Ascott M
(2020)
In Situ Observations and Lumped Parameter Model Reconstructions Reveal Intra-Annual to Multidecadal Variability in Groundwater Levels in Sub-Saharan Africa
in Water Resources Research
Ascott M
(2022)
Time of emergence of impacts of climate change on groundwater levels in sub-Saharan Africa
in Journal of Hydrology
Bianchi M
(2020)
Investigating the Productivity and Sustainability of Weathered Basement Aquifers in Tropical Africa Using Numerical Simulation and Global Sensitivity Analysis
in Water Resources Research
Cuthbert MO
(2019)
Observed controls on resilience of groundwater to climate variability in sub-Saharan Africa.
in Nature
Larbi I
(2020)
Water balance components estimation under scenarios of land cover change in the Vea catchment, West Africa
in Hydrological Sciences Journal
Description | We now have better understanding of the: - impacts of long term variations in the climate on groundwater resources in West Africa - the processes that control groundwater recharge and can see the potential for groundwater recharge to increase under climate change - how hydraulic properties of basement rock, that underlies much of aquifer, controls the yields of wells that tap the groundwater within these rocks |
Exploitation Route | We are exploring the options for seasonal forecasting of groundwater resource status in low storage basement aquifers. We are proposing new monitoring networks to enable better groundwater data to be collected in West Africa. We are further developing models to examine the potential for increased abstraction of groundwater, including the opportunities for the use of solar pumps. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Environment |
Description | Tools for the analysis of historical groundwater levels have been adopted by the Dept of Water Resources in Burkina Faso. Insights into groundwater data and processes have been incorporated into the RainWatch web platform and app. |
First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Title | groundwater models of a series of locations across Burkina Faso |
Description | groundwater models using AquiMod code |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | policy makers have a better understanding of past fluctuations of groundwater level and the uncertainty in projected groundwater levels under climate change |
Title | Historic reconstructions of daily groundwater levels for eight boreholes in Burkina Faso |
Description | This dataset consists of reconstructions of daily groundwater levels for eight boreholes in Burkina Faso. Data for each borehole is provided in an individual csv file, with reconstructed groundwater level time series reported in metres above sea level (GWL, mASL). The groundwater level reconstructions were derived in 2019 as a part of the BRAVE project (NE/M008827/1 and NE/M008983/1) to develop an improved understanding of temporal variability in groundwater levels in sub-Saharan Africa. The reconstructions were derived using the lumped conceptual groundwater model AquiMod. Observed groundwater level time series for the eight boreholes were modelled using AquiMod, and the calibrated models were used with historic precipitation and potential evapotranspiration data to derive the reconstructions. The length of the time series of reconstructed groundwater levels varies between the boreholes due to differences in the length of the precipitation time series used to derive the reconstructions. Full details of this dataset are reported by Ascott et al. (2020). Ascott, M.J., Macdonald, D.M.J., Black, E., Verhoef, A., Nakohoun, P., Tirogo, J., Sandwidi, W.J.P., Bliefernicht, J., Sorensen, J.P.R., Bossa, A.Y., 2020. In Situ Observations and Lumped Parameter Model Reconstructions Reveal Intra-Annual to Multidecadal Variability in Groundwater Levels in Sub-Saharan Africa. Water Resour. Res., 56(12): e2020WR028056. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR028056 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/nationalgeosciencedatacentre/citedData/catalogue/c9262369-4db1-48e1-9660-3ef8... |
Description | 2iE collaboration |
Organisation | International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering |
Country | Burkina Faso |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We instigated the revitalisation of the study catchment. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support in undertaking research at study catchment including the use of students to gather data. |
Impact | Outputs are the monitoring data collected at the study catchments |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | DEIE collaboration |
Organisation | Ministry of Water Affairs |
Department | Department of Water Studies and Information |
Country | Burkina Faso |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We will analyse data provided by DEIE and will train their staff to allow them to carry on this work independently |
Collaborator Contribution | They provide us with groundwater level and river flow data |
Impact | none as yet |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | UKRI-GCRF proposal team relating to sustainable energy |
Organisation | Addis Ababa University |
Country | Ethiopia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I identified an opportunity for a proposal to a GCRF research call in sustainable energy related to solar-powered groundwater abstraction. I approached Imperial College London, Water Research Institute Ghana, Makerere University Uganda, and University Addis Ababa and wrote the first draft of a proposal. Unfortunately this was not successful but the partnership has been developed for subsequent opportunities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners designed case studies and costed input to the proposal |
Impact | Proposal to UKRI-GCRF programme: Sustainable Energy and International Development: Beyond Technology |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | UKRI-GCRF proposal team relating to sustainable energy |
Organisation | Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Ghana |
Department | Water Research Institute |
Country | Ghana |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I identified an opportunity for a proposal to a GCRF research call in sustainable energy related to solar-powered groundwater abstraction. I approached Imperial College London, Water Research Institute Ghana, Makerere University Uganda, and University Addis Ababa and wrote the first draft of a proposal. Unfortunately this was not successful but the partnership has been developed for subsequent opportunities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners designed case studies and costed input to the proposal |
Impact | Proposal to UKRI-GCRF programme: Sustainable Energy and International Development: Beyond Technology |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | UKRI-GCRF proposal team relating to sustainable energy |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I identified an opportunity for a proposal to a GCRF research call in sustainable energy related to solar-powered groundwater abstraction. I approached Imperial College London, Water Research Institute Ghana, Makerere University Uganda, and University Addis Ababa and wrote the first draft of a proposal. Unfortunately this was not successful but the partnership has been developed for subsequent opportunities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners designed case studies and costed input to the proposal |
Impact | Proposal to UKRI-GCRF programme: Sustainable Energy and International Development: Beyond Technology |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | UKRI-GCRF proposal team relating to sustainable energy |
Organisation | Makerere University |
Country | Uganda |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I identified an opportunity for a proposal to a GCRF research call in sustainable energy related to solar-powered groundwater abstraction. I approached Imperial College London, Water Research Institute Ghana, Makerere University Uganda, and University Addis Ababa and wrote the first draft of a proposal. Unfortunately this was not successful but the partnership has been developed for subsequent opportunities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners designed case studies and costed input to the proposal |
Impact | Proposal to UKRI-GCRF programme: Sustainable Energy and International Development: Beyond Technology |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | WASCAL |
Organisation | West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use |
Country | Burkina Faso |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Initiated a catchment study that links with one of the WASCAL research catchments |
Collaborator Contribution | WASCAL provide a local technician who coordinates the collection of data. Also a WASCAL PhD student is associated with the project and is undertaking modelling that will be used on the BRAVE2 project. |
Impact | just data collected from the study catchment at this stage |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Final Workshop on Vulnerability Studies of project PAS-PNA au Burkina Faso |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | I made a presentation on groundwater in Burkina Faso to the final workshop on Vulnerability Studies of project PAS-PNA au Burkina Faso, led by the organisation Climate Analytics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | IAH presentation on weathered basement modelling |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation entitled 'Investigating the productivity of weathered basement aquifers with a synthetic dataset' made by Marco Bianchi at the Annual IAH Conference in Malaga, Spain |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |