On a global level groundwater is estimated to provide about 50% of household use of water, 40% of the water-demand of industry and 20% of water use in irrigated agriculture.
In many regions of the world, we see an overexploitation of the groundwater resource, resulting in dropping groundwater tables or salt-intrusion. We also see pollution of the resource due to contamination of soils, spreading of waste and discharges of untreated effluents from industries, cities and households. Other regions have however not yet utilised the resource to it's full potential, primarily due to lack of funding and/or capacity.
Groundwater use has increased substantially over the last decades. The main reasons being its widespread occurrence, overall high quality, relative reliability during drought seasons, and modest development costs.
The full potential of groundwater for water storage is in general nowhere explored to it's full potential, building of large or small scale dams remains the most common practice for storing water globally.
In spite of its importance, groundwater remains however by and large neglected in water resource management discussions, compared to the attention that is given to surface water in many parts of the world.
This paper will discuss why. The simple answer being that the reason is a tragic combination of "the tragedy of the commons" and "what we can not see we can not manage".
Capacity development on groundwater management is urgently needed to strengthen human resources. Financial restraints and lack of knowledge about groundwater resources hinder effective management. More widespread understanding of groundwater issues is necessary for increased inclusion of groundwater issues into general water management. Excellent research exists on many aquifers in many countries, but the existing governance structure has in most cases neither assumed it's responsibility to monitor nor to manage the resource.
