1Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Changes GRAPHIC 2Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Changes

Groundwater is a valuable natural resource providing a pri-mary source of water for agriculture, domestic and industrial purposes and accounts for 95 % of readily accessible fresh-water. Subsurface resources are challenging to evaluate; however, there is a growing awareness of their importance in global environmental cycles. Thus, UNESCO’s initiative GRAPHIC (Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Changes) addresses the paucity of data on groundwater and investigates the eff ect of climate change and human activities on groundwater. This brochure contains a brief summary of our current ac-tivities and the methodologies used to evaluate the impact of human and climate stresses on groundwater resources and provides information about our upcoming pilot pro-grammes for groundwater evaluation. UNESCO-IHP activities in groundwater resources IHP seeks to address the impact of global change (e.g. cli-mate change and human pressures) on the water cycle. Through the Programme, UNESCO serves its Member States by addressing regional needs through global coordina-tion. It also provides opportunities for knowledge-sharing through thematic regional networking. In many nations, unsustainable groundwater management practices are contributing to signifi cant and irreversible damage of the resource base. IHP builds capacities for im-proving integrated groundwater resources management at national and international levels. To achieve this, IHP com-piles and makes available reliable global data and informa-tion on groundwater resources, including aquifer locations and characteristics, to the international scientifi c and man-agement community. At the regional level, in response to specifi c needs IHP prepares and publishes regional case studies and organizes regional workshops and training courses on various themes. A broad range of groundwater studies and training material are published and made freely available through UNESCO’s Water Porta