Geology for Global Development

Water and Sanitation

Demonstrating the Importance of Geoscience in the Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies

May 28, 2018
Demonstrating the Importance of Geoscience in the Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies

Next week the UN Annual Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will discuss the science required for “transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”. Discussions will focus on SDGs 6 (water and sanitation), 7 (energy), 11 (sustainable cities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 15 (life on land).   This forum will bring to ...[Read More]

Saltwater intrusion: causes, impacts and mitigation

February 12, 2018
Saltwater intrusion: causes, impacts and mitigation

In many countries, access to clean and safe to drink water is often taken for granted: the simple act of turning a tap gives us access to a precious resource. In today’s post,Bárbara Zambelli Azevedo, discusses how over population of coastal areas and a changing climate is putting ready access to freshwater supplies under threat.  Water is always moving downwards, finding its way until it ge ...[Read More]

Robert Emberson: Microplastic – Too Important to Ignore

December 10, 2017
Robert Emberson: Microplastic – Too Important to Ignore

Anyone lucky enough to catch any of the BBC’s recent new series Blue Planet II will have noticed that each episode devotes a portion of the time to the impact humans have on the oceans. A breathtaking series of shots from a recent episode detailed the heart-wrenching demise of a baby whale, possibly poisoned by its mother’s milk due to toxins from plastic pollution. Vast quantities of plastic now ...[Read More]

Bárbara Zambelli Azevedo: Access​ ​to​ ​clean​ ​water,​ ​gender​ ​equality​ ​and​ ​geosciences

November 30, 2017
Bárbara Zambelli Azevedo: Access​ ​to​ ​clean​ ​water,​ ​gender​ ​equality​ ​and​ ​geosciences

The importance of access to safe drinking water in our lives is quite obvious. Although its relation with gender equality and sustainable development may be less so. In this article, Bárbara Zambelli Azevedo explores the relationship between the two and discusses what geoscientists can do to improve the situation. In 2017, according to the WHO, over 2.1 billion people still don’t have access to sa ...[Read More]

Guest Blog: Anthropogenic climate change – what does this mean for groundwater resources in Africa?

November 28, 2017
Guest Blog: Anthropogenic climate change – what does this mean for groundwater resources in Africa?

On the 25th October, Laura Hunt (Cardiff University) attended the joint meeting of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the Hydrogeological Group of the Geological Society, which included the Ineson Lecture at the Geological Society of London.  It is a common misconception that Africa is an entirely dry, arid continent, parched for water. A resource that we in the UK take alm ...[Read More]

Guest Blog: Africa, Groundwater and the Sustainable Development Goals

November 8, 2017
Guest Blog: Africa, Groundwater and the Sustainable Development Goals

Africa faces a range of groundwater and development issues such as a lack of groundwater data, rising populations and urbanisation. On the 25th October Charlotte Copley attended the joint meeting of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the Hydrogeological Group of the Geological Society, which included the Ineson Lecture at the Geological Society of London. With only two hydr ...[Read More]

Wearing the Earth Down: The Environmental Cost of Fashion

October 2, 2017
Wearing the Earth Down: The Environmental Cost of Fashion

Eloise Hunt is an Earth science student at Imperial College London, and coordinator of the GfGD University group there. Today we publish her first guest article for the GfGD blog, exploring the environmental cost of fashion. When we think of pollution, we imagine raw sewage pumped into rivers, open-cast mines or oil spills. We don’t often think of our inconspicuous white shirt or new jeans.  But, ...[Read More]

Guest Blog: Geoscience’s Role In Addressing Fluorosis In Tanzania

August 29, 2017
Guest Blog: Geoscience’s Role In Addressing Fluorosis In Tanzania

Megan Jamer is a geoscientist from Canada, and an avid cyclist and explorer. Megan is currently travelling around East Africa on bicycle, taking in some remarkable sites and observing first hand the relationship between geoscience and sustainable development. Megan has previously written about agroforestry, landslides, and disaster risk reduction in Rwanda. Her travels have since taken her to Tanz ...[Read More]

World Water Day 2016

March 22, 2016
World Water Day 2016

The 22nd March 2016 is World Water Day, an annual event organised by the United Nations to promote the vital importance of ensuring universal access to clean, safe water. Around 10% of the world (650 million people) still lack access to clean water.  Water is essential for life. When communities don’t have clean water they are forced to drink dirty and dangerous water, causing illness and sometime ...[Read More]

The Impacts of Climate Change on Global Groundwater Resources (Part 4 of 4)

March 14, 2016
The Impacts of Climate Change on Global Groundwater Resources (Part 4 of 4)

Christopher Barry is a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham. He has written for the GfGD Blog in the past – detailing his contribution to water projects in Burkina Faso and fundraising efforts to support such work. We have recently added a briefing note to our website, written by Christopher, describing the role of climate change on global groundwater resources. You can access ...[Read More]