Internationally Shared Aquifers Resources Management Programme (ISARM)

Jointly implemented with the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 2000, ISARM aims to set up a network of specialists and experts to compile a world inventory of transboundary aquifers and develop wise practices and guidance tools concerning shared groundwater resources management.

The regional importance of groundwater as a source of water supply is well known. The UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) have done much to stimulate the development of methods and techniques needed to improve the understanding of groundwater systems. Still, when it comes to considering regional and global water policy issues, the physical status and quality trends of groundwater resources have not been adequately taken into account.

UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Member States have raised concerns about the lack of systematic assessment of the resources of key aquifers and problems related to their development, management and protection. Recommendations have been made for improved collection and sharing of groundwater data, the establishment of a groundwater resources assessment centre and for a higher profile for groundwater issues. Because geological formations have no regard for water catchments or national boundaries, resources in many aquifers are shared by adjacent states and require transboundary management. Very little attention has so far been given to transboundary aquifers.

It is ISARM’s aim to fill this gap by preparing an ‘ISARM toolkit’, comprising detailed technical guidelines, examples of legal and other institutional frameworks, a fully referenced database and extended case studies, highlighting the scientific, socio-economic, as well as legal and institutional problems that can be addressed by sound management principles.