Groundwater Resource Observatory for the Southwestern Madagascar

Madagascar has one of the highest poverty rates in the world and consequently the long-term monitoring of groundwater resources is not a priority for the authorities.

However, groundwater is often the only sustainable resource that has satisfactory quality to supply the population. This is especially true in the south-west of the country, which is a semi-arid region and a hot spot of global change. 

In response to the lack of data, Action contre la Faim, the Minster of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MEAH), the Malagasy Meteorology Direction (DGM), Antananarivo University, Toliara University have established a groundwater Resource Observatory for Southwestern Madagascar (GROSOM) to monitor piezometry and meteorology over the longer term  as part of a humanitarian response. The first site was setup in 2014 in a catchment located over carbonate plateau; in 2018, a second site was installed in an alluvial setting within a crystalline basement catchment and a third site will be installed in 2020 to monitor groundwater dynamics in a coastal setting, around Tulear city. Each site includes a weather station and between 3 to 6 piezometric probes.