Sustainability Nexus AID: groundwater

The Groundwater Module within the Sustainability Nexus Analytics, Informatics, and Data (AID) Programme of the United Nations University (UNU) addresses critical challenges in sustainable groundwater management. Groundwater resources around the world are under increasing stress from overextraction and pollution, threatening water and food security for billions. Groundwater governance is not one-dimensional but multi-faceted, and central to the management of environmental, social, and economic systems worldwide. In line with the Nexus Approach, the goal of the UNU Sustainability Nexus AID Programme's Groundwater Module is improving access to data and information tools that help scientists and decision-makers address interdisciplinary groundwater problems that affect humans and nature. Here, we describe the critical need for a Nexus Approach to groundwater-related issues and highlight current challenges involving data and information gaps and data-model operability. The Groundwater Module can help address these challenges by offering a central hub for data, analytics, and informatics for addressing groundwater-related issues. By integrating dispersed datasets and modeling tools, this module aims to enable analysis and new insights. We showcase some of the tools in the Groundwater Module and discuss future opportunities in the global pursuit to fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).