Groundwater and drought in Ethiopia

In 1998 the Department for International Development (DFID) funded the project 'Groundwater drought early warning for vulnerable areas' as part of the DFID Knowledge and Research (KaR) programme, a collaboration between UK partners BGS and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and with the Bureau of Water, Mines and Energy in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Drawing on village surveys and stakeholder consultations across sectors, this project evolved a broader, more holistic approach to the study of drought and water supply. Rather than focus exclusively on drought and water availability, constraints on household access to and use of water were explored through the lens of water security. This, in turn, highlighted links between the household water economy (across seasons; between good and bad years) and wider livelihood strategies, particularly in relation to inter-dependencies between food and water security.

There are three files within this data holding:

• the Excel file 'Ethiopia' contains the hydrochemical water quality data from springs, river and wells collected and analysed during the project. It also contains information about the sample sources.
• the word file 'Project Overview' contains a overview of the project including a list of all outputs (report, paper and map) produced during the project with links to electronic copies.
• the word file 'Village details' includes additional information about the villages visited during the fieldwork and collection of hydrochemical samples.