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World Bank Group policy brief: Groundwater management in the Horn of Africa

In the borderlands of the Horn of Africa, climate variability and population growth are leading to the increasing scarcity of resources, including pasture and water. This pattern is intensifying vulnerability and fuelling local conflict, which is being exacerbated by weak governance and political marginalization of affected communities.

Women fetching water in Ethiopia, seen from behind.

This new policy brief from the World Bank Group, called Groundwater management in the Horn of Africa: Conflict, scarcity, and hybrid governance, is drawn from a study which explores the dynamics related to water, fragility, and social exclusion that should inform the development or rehabilitation of rural water supply services in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia.

The policy brief, aimed at policymakers and development/humanitarian actors engaged in groundwater development in the borderlands of the Horn of Africa, provides recommendations such as:

  • Consider conflict dynamics, ownership, and control more carefully in project design.
  • Develop more flexible governance involving both formal and informal institutions in water management.
  • Ensure water development is conflict-sensitive and context-specific.
  • Consult and engage more widely when developing water projects.
  • Make water-sharing agreements clearer and more equitable and prioritize enforcement.

Explore the policy brief here

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