UDS Lecturer calls for multi-stakeholder working group to drive groundwater monitoring in White Volta Basin
Engineer Nana Kobea Bonso urges the Water Resources Commission to lead the formation of a sector working group involving key institutions, local authorities and communities to coordinate implementation of the groundwater monitoring framework.
A lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Engineer Nana Kobea Bonso, has called for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder sector working group to coordinate the implementation and sustainability of a groundwater monitoring framework being developed for the White Volta Basin.
He said the proposed group would bring together key institutions, local authorities, industry players, academia and community representatives to ensure that recommendations under the framework are translated into practical action.
Ing Bonso made the call during a stakeholder engagement on the groundwater monitoring framework being developed by the Water Resources Commission (WRC), with support from WaterAid.
He described the engagement as a well-structured and participatory process that had created an opportunity for stakeholders with different interests and experiences to contribute to the development of the framework.
According to him, the involvement of people from different sectors was important to ensuring that the framework reflected the needs and aspirations of those who depend on, manage or have professional responsibilities relating to groundwater resources.
“We noticed that there were people from all walks of life who are connected in one way or the other to groundwater,” he said, citing participants from academia, industry, communities and district assemblies.
Ing Bonso, who lectures at the Department of Civil Engineering at the UDS School of Engineering, said developing the monitoring framework was an important step, but its effectiveness would depend largely on how well its implementation was coordinated.
He proposed the formation of a sector steering or working group comprising institutions and stakeholders with responsibilities in groundwater management and water service delivery.
He said the Water Resources Commission should lead the process of identifying and bringing together relevant institutions to establish the group.
Among the organisations he identified were the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Ghana Water Limited, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the Ghana Meteorological Agency and the Ghana Standards Authority.
He said the inclusion of these institutions would help create a coordinated platform for stakeholders to contribute their expertise, support implementation and monitor progress.
According to him, the proposed working group should go beyond serving as an advisory body and take an active role in ensuring that the framework’s recommendations are implemented.
For communities within the White Volta Basin, an effective groundwater monitoring system could provide a stronger basis for understanding groundwater conditions and informing decisions on the management of this essential resource.
However, he stressed that the benefits of the framework would depend on sustained coordination and the translation of stakeholder recommendations into concrete outcomes.
He expressed optimism that establishing a sector working group would provide the institutional support needed to move the initiative forward.
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