Groundwater governance workshop in Chad targets sustainable resource management
Groundwater governance workshop in Chad targets sustainable resource management
A national workshop in N’Djamena brings together diverse stakeholders to develop an action plan for improving groundwater governance in Chad, vital for water security and sustainable development.
A three-day national workshop focused on enhancing groundwater governance opened in N’Djamena in June 2026. It gathered around fifty participants from public institutions, technical and financial partners, civil society, and user groups. The objective is to craft a consensus-based multi-stakeholder action plan to improve groundwater management and mitigate risks regarding both water quantity and quality.
Groundwater plays a vital role in Chad’s water security. It supports drinking water supply, irrigation, pastoral systems, and urban development, especially in areas facing climate stress and surface water scarcity. This workshop was organized to develop a shared action plan that reinforces groundwater governance and addresses priority risks tied to the resource’s quantity and quality.
Speaking at the opening, UNICEF representative Natascha Paddison emphasized the collective duty to secure equitable access to essential services for every child, notably clean water, hygiene, and sanitation. She noted that behind each technical decision on groundwater lies a human reality upon which health, education, human capital development, and dignity depend.
Paddison called on participants over the three days to share knowledge, compare experiences, identify key risks, and collaboratively build concrete solutions. She stressed that groundwater resources must serve as an assurance for health rather than a hazard, a driver for development rather than a source of conflict, all while safeguarding the interests of future generations.
The UNICEF representative reaffirmed her organization’s commitment to supporting the Chadian government and all partners in this process. She also thanked the United Kingdom, through its Foreign Office, whose funding made the workshop possible.
Fatimé Hassan, the Director General of Water Resources, explained that the workshop aims to establish a concerted action plan to improve groundwater governance in Chad. She outlined that the sessions would build a common understanding of the country’s groundwater situation, identify the main governance challenges affecting management, and define necessary activities to implement the chosen actions. According to her, the outcomes will be captured in a report detailing key discussion points and a technical orientation note incorporating findings from the 2026 national exploratory assessment on groundwater risks.
The workshop includes about fifty participants representing national water authorities, sectoral ministries, regional organizations, technical and financial partners, United Nations agencies, NGOs, the private sector, user groups, and academic experts. The exchanges are expected to yield concrete recommendations for more effective, inclusive, and sustainable groundwater management in Chad.