IGRAC organises GGRETA workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan

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On the 22nd of June, UNESCO and IGRAC organised the workshop ‘Added Value of Groundwater Management Systems' in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The purpose of this workshop was to introduce the information management system (IMS) that has been developed within the framework of the Groundwater Resources Governance in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) project. Participants were being trained to use the IMS and were invited to thoroughly discuss its current and potential added values. 

Dr. Neno Kukuric, Director of IGRAC, trained local experts involved in the GGRETA Project on how to use the IMS. The IMS has been designed, implemented and maintained by IGRAC and provides its users an online platform to consistently collect, organise, analyse and disseminate the information collected for the transboundary aquifers' assessment. 

Information Management System

The online IMS operates as a data and information sharing platform between the countries for the assessment and management of the transboundary aquifer. This newly developed IMS is integrated into IGRAC's Global Groundwater Information System (GGIS). The GGIS is using open and extendable state of the art technology, making it possible to connect to more and more varied external data sources and systems on the internet. 

GGRETA Project

The GGRETA Project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and 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).
 
The GGRETA Project conducts in-depth assessments of three selected case studies:

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

The experts that were trained during the workshop in Almaty are all working on the Pretashkent case study.

Case Study