Abstract

The perception of a global crisis of groundwater over-abstraction and pollution is assumed to include Sub-Saharan Africa, a region where groundwater resources are on average greatly under-utilized. This perception of crisis contributes to a “discourse of shortage” which in turn has led to a neglect of the potential role of groundwater to support irrigation, water security and economic growth and is underpinned by beliefs about the availability of the resource itself. However, examples from southern Africa suggest that it is the absence of the services needed to support groundwater development (including energy, drilling and pumping equipment, hard and soft infrastructure, physical access, finance and credit, and institutional support) that are the real constraint. These are likely to be more important than average hydrogeological potential in determining the viability of groundwater supplies, and examples suggest that when these factors are in place, higher-yielding sources tend to be found and developed. Rather than consider the interlinkages between these elements, a discourse of shortage in Sub-Saharan Africa appears to take precedence. Sub-genres including the village-level discourse, the transboundary discourse, and the sustainability discourse are also identified, and these are likely to reinforce the idea of shortage. The policy impact of these more dominant narratives may retard progress towards a much-needed structural change in economic activity enabled by increased agricultural production, resilience and water security.

中文翻译：

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地下水和撒哈拉以南非洲地区的水资源短缺问题

摘要

认为全球地下水过度吸收和污染危机的认识包括撒哈拉以南非洲，该地区的地下水资源平均利用率很低。这种对危机的认识导致了“短缺的话语”，这反过来导致人们忽视了地下水在支持灌溉，水安全和经济增长方面的潜在作用，并且以对资源本身可得性的信念为基础。但是，来自南部非洲的例子表明，真正的制约因素是缺乏支持地下水开发所需的服务（包括能源，钻井和抽水设备，硬，软基础设施，有形通道，资金和信贷以及机构支持） 。在确定地下水供应的可行性方面，这些因素可能比平均水文地质潜力更为重要，实例表明，这些因素到位后，往往会发现和开发出高产来源。与其考虑这些因素之间的相互联系，不如在撒哈拉以南非洲的短缺问题上占优势。还确定了包括村级话语，跨界话语和可持续性话语在内的子类型，这些子类可能会强化短缺的观念。这些更具支配性的叙述对政策的影响可能会阻碍农业生产，抵御力和水安全的提高，导致经济活动急需进行结构性变化的进展。实例表明，这些因素到位后，往往会发现并开发出产量较高的资源。撒哈拉以南非洲关于短缺的论述似乎没有优先考虑，而不是考虑这些因素之间的相互联系。还确定了包括村级话语，跨界话语和可持续性话语在内的子类型，这些子类可能会强化“荒谬”的观念。这些更具支配性的叙述对政策的影响可能会阻碍农业生产，抵御力和水安全的提高，导致经济活动急需的结构性变化的进展。实例表明，这些因素到位后，往往会发现并开发出产量较高的资源。与其考虑这些因素之间的相互联系，不如在撒哈拉以南非洲的短缺问题上占优势。还确定了包括村级话语，跨界话语和可持续性话语在内的子类型，这些子类可能会强化“荒谬”的观念。这些更具支配性的叙述对政策的影响可能会阻碍农业生产，抵御力和水安全的提高，导致经济活动急需的结构性变化的进展。撒哈拉以南非洲的短缺问题似乎优先。还确定了包括村级话语，跨界话语和可持续性话语在内的子类型，这些子类可能会强化短缺的观念。这些更具支配性的叙述对政策的影响可能会阻碍农业生产，抵御力和水安全的提高，导致经济活动急需的结构性变化的进展。撒哈拉以南非洲的短缺问题似乎优先。还确定了包括村级话语，跨界话语和可持续性话语在内的子类型，这些子类可能会强化“荒谬”的观念。这些更具支配性的叙述对政策的影响可能会阻碍农业生产，抵御力和水安全的提高，导致经济活动急需的结构性变化的进展。