ISARM Africa was initiated in  2002. Since then several activities have been deployed resulting in the main developments listed hereunder:

2002: The first inventory of African Transboundary Aquifers were produced during the Tripoli workshop. Some of the identified aquifers were studied in detail under coordination of regional bodies. For example, investigation in the North Western Sahara Aquifer System and the Iullemeden Aquifer System were carried out in the framework of OSS (Sahara and Sahel Observatory). For the majority of identified aquifers, only an approximate location was known and no details on aquifer's characteristics were available.

2005: IGRAC refined the delineation of 20 transboundary aquifers in the SADC region and developed a web-based system for storage and display of relevant information. Course material on Groundwater resources and transboundary aquifers in Southern Africa was developed.

2007: Two ISARM workshops were organized in Pretoria, South Africa (in collaboration with SADC) and Cotonou, Benin (in collaboration with ECOWAS). During these meetings thirteen aquifers in SADC countries were discussed and nine aquifers in West Africa. In addition three workshops dealing with transboundary issues were organized during the GEF Fourth Biennial Water Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

2008: Members of the ISARM core-group (UNESCO-IHP, IAH and IGRAC) supported the establishment of a Regional Centre for the Management of Shared Groundwater Resources in Libya.