Recently, a new UNESCO publication, Managing Aquifer Recharge: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability, led by Professor Yan ZHENG from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and co-edited by four internationally renowned scholars, was officially published.

The new book presents 28 real-life examples of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in 17 countries, where, at village to state level, people have collaborated to improve the quantity and quality of water supplies and buffer them against drought and emergencies. Prof. ZHENG also wrote a chapter in which a set of environmental and social sustainability indicators were constructed and applied to evaluate the 28 cases in the book, enabling the sustainability of MAR schemes to be evaluated consistently for the first time.

These cases inspire an improved understanding of groundwater systems and showcase their capability to store additional water to meet critical human needs for water and food, and to purify water relying on passive treatment, which is of great significance for achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and for adaption to climate change.

Related links: 

UNESCO’s news release: https://en.unesco.org/news/new-unesco-book-managed-aquifer-recharge-presents-28-real-life-examples-showcasing-potential.