Links between land useand groundwater
Governance provisions and
management strategies
Prof Dr Stephen FosterSenior Advisor, Global Water Partnership
Dr Jan CherletInternational Land Coalition Secretariat
Land-use change
Over the past 250 years:
half of ice-free land surface changed by human activity
primary forests 70% turned into arable land
30% into pasture land
Root drivers: growing population, need for food and resources
Water footprint of land-use change
Every change in land use has a water footprint
with long-lasting or irreversable impacts on groundwater
Water footprint of land-use change
Causal chain
need for resources ~ land-use change ~ impact on groundwater
Causal chain
BUT the links
need for resources ~ land-use change ~ impact on groundwater
are not deterministic
Causal chain
BUT the links
need for resources ~ land-use change ~ impact on groundwater
are not deterministic
Need for resources ~ land-use change
before 1950s after 1960
land-use change > pop. growth land-use change < pop. growth
land-use change mostly in
Europe, N-America, Asia
land-use change mostly in
tropical America, tropical Asia
Need for resources ~ land-use change
Need for resources ~ land-use change
since 1960
• global population x 2.3
• demand for food x 3
• agricultural area only +10%
most of production gains from
• intensification
• improved yields
• increase in irrigated agricultural land
Need for resources ~ land-use change
since 1960
• global population x 2.3
• demand for food x 3
• agricultural area only +10%
most of production gains from
• intensification
• improved yields
• increase in irrigated agricultural land
…this will
continue in the
near future
Need for resources ~ land-use change
Need for resources ~ land-use change
today 34% of global irrigated
food production
derives from
groundwaterirrigation
20% of all groundwater-
based food
production is
based on
unsustainable
abstraction
Causal chain
SO the links
need for resources ~ land-use change ~ impact on groundwater
are not deterministic
Facilitating/mitigating factors
Factors Scale of the factors
Causal chain
The links
need for resources ~ land-use change ~ impact on groundwater
are not deterministic
Land-use ~ groundwater
There are different techniques to address groundwater quality and
quantity in land-use planning and land zoning
Land-use ~ groundwater
There are different techniques to address groundwater quality and
quantity in land-use planning and land zoning
General rule:
Limiting land use in specific zones, defined by hydrogeological
criteria, provides better socio-economic and environmental returns
than treating all land equally.
What for? Where exactly? At which scale?
Land-use ~ groundwater
Example: groundwater quality protection
Land-use ~ groundwater
Example: soil salinisation control
Land-use ~ groundwater
Land-use ~ groundwater
Governance instruments to implement these techniques
• Through policies and planning at national level
o constrain diffuse pollution through agricultural guidelines (e.g. EU)
o abate of point-source pollution from agriculture, industry,…
o maintain forest areas or promote exstensive agriculture (in specific areas)
o public awareness raising
• Through regulatory frameworks at meso level
o compulsory consultations between land agency, groundwater agency
o Environmental Impact Assessments
o local land-use planning/zoning
• Through participatory processes or incentives
o agro-environmental management, stewardship schemes (e.g. PES, PWS)
o price setting etc.
Land-use ~ groundwater
Obstacles to a coordinated land~groundwater governance
• legal and institutional impediments
o poorly articulated institutions:
land institutions, groundwater institutions, agricultural institutions, …
o land rights, groundwater rights: better separate
• economic impediments
o land zoning can change the value of land by 200-700%
o those best placed to protect groundwater resources may not be
principal beneficiaries
