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FAO SWALIM supports mapping of groundwater sources for priority humanitarian interventions in Somalia
Access to water is a basic human need, and achieving full coverage remains a challenge in many areas of Somalia. For this reason, and in view of the persistent drought across the Horn of Africa region, there is need for the Somali government, humanitarian and development partners to work together towards a common aim and a sustainable long term solution. Key to this is planning and implementation of interventions for groundwater development, guided by high quality and up to date data/information on the current status of existing water points, and on the potential of major aquifers for further development.
FAO SWALIM initiated a suite of tools and a methodological approach for updating and managing water sources data – the Somalia Water Sources Information Management System (SWIMS). Through SWIMS, data from field partners supplemented by SWALIM’s surveys is assembled in one national database, analysed and communicated through different forums, among them the water sources live map: livemap.faoswalim.org
Between 26th and 28th February 2018 SWALIM participated in a workshop organised by the WASH Cluster and Yme/GSA for partners with expertise in data management and experience in drilling/water source exploitation. The objective of the workshop was to share experiences, challenges, innovations and reforms, and to identify best practices and develop roadmap for groundwater source mapping in Somalia. Senior technical staff from the Federal Government Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) including the Director for Water, Director for Planning, and the senior advisor to the Minister - Dr Abdullahi Elmi Mohamed of the Somali Centre for Water and Environment, Stockholm - participated in the workshop. SWALIM played a key role in data provision and analysis to identify priority intervention areas for drought response. The outcome of the workshop was a commitment to improve coverage and quality of data in South and Central Somalia.
SWALIM remains committed to providing technical support to the MoEWR in groundwater studies, monitoring and analysis, with the aim of developing sustainable solutions to water scarcity across the country.
The presentations from the workshop and some of the maps can be accessed through the link: ppt_downloads.zip