The Groundwater Resources Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) Project addresses issues related to Transboundary Aquifers and responds to the pressing need of increasing the knowledge on their physical and socioeconomics characteristics. It is an integral component of the UNESCO’s International Shared Aquifer Resource Management (ISARM) Initiative and the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP).

In-depth assessments have been conducted in three selected case studies:

• The Esquipulas-Ocotepeque-Citalá (Trifinio) Aquifer in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
• The Stampriet-Kalahari/Karoo Aquifer in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
• The Pretashkent Aquifer in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Trifinio Aquifer

Trifinio study area

The technical activities of this pilot study were executed by a local tri-national team coordinated by the UICN (Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza) that was the local implementing partner of UNESCO. A close cooperation was set with the Plan Trifinio1. Apart from compiling and analysing existing information (mainly limited to climate, geology and hydrogeology), the focal components of the pilot study were a geophysical survey (subcontracted to the company Geofísica Aplicada), a study of gender issues (in cooperation with municipalities) and the development of a geo-referenced database (supported by IGRAC). In addition, initial advocacies for a multi-actor consultation platform for sustainable groundwater management were made at the occasion of meetings with local authorities and personnel of the Plan Trifinio.