Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa, or the Horn of Africa, is one of the geographic regions where IGRAC has been most present in recent years. This region is frequently being exposed to extreme weather conditions, like long periods of severe droughts or heavy floods. Since surface water is often not sufficiently available during these periods of drought, the region has a relatively high dependency on groundwater. 

IGRAC in Eastern Africa

Because in East Africa these periods of drought alternate with periods of heavy rainfall, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is an interested method of taking full advantage of available water resources. By using these periods of rainfull for controlled recharge of groundwater resources, aquifers can provide a more sustainable supply of drinking water or water for irrigation in periods of drought. For example in the IGAD-MAR project, IGRAC has mapped the potential for MAR applications in the Merti Aquifer, shared by Kenya and Somalia. 

Many of Eastern Africa's aquifers are transboundary and, therefore, require intergovernmental cooperation in order to make sustainable use of the potential of these resources. To encourage cooperation between countries both on a academic/technical level and a governmental level, IGRAC developed the groundwater game. This serious game is a similation of how the level of cooperation affects an aquifer and it was used as part of the GroFutures project. Sessions were held in Ethiopia and Tanzania

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