Groundwater is of major importance for potable water supply in both urban and rural areas of the developing world, and also provides the water resource for much agricultural irrigation and industrial production.
In many countries there are serious impacts or threats from uncontrolled groundwater pumping and/or from pollution due to inadequate control of land use and waste disposal with large socioeconomic and environmental costs affecting human health, employment opportunities and food production.
GWMATE helps tackle these issues through ensuring that the management dimension of groundwater resources receives attention by: focusing on management and protection issues in development projects and policy dialog advising on the implementation of management systems, including the mobilization of stakeholders evaluating global experience, taking account of hydrogeologic and socioeconomic diversity and disseminating best-practice elements internationally "
