Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Forwarded to the Portal by: Anuradha The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will publish the first-ever world map of underground aquifers, which account for some 96 per cent of global freshwater resources, the agency announced in a press release today. Despite their strategic importance, no global inventory of aquifers , most of which straddle international boundaries , had been compiled before UNESCO started work on its online map, which will be launched to coincide with the submission to the General Assembly of a draft Convention on Transboundary Aquifers next week. The UNESCO is presenting a detailed map identifying underground water resources that are shared by at least two countries, using data compiled since 2000 by UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme for a groundwater database. The map will include information about the quality of water and rate of replenishment of the 273 transboundary aquifers , 68 in the American continent, 38 in Africa, 65 in Eastern Europe, 90 in Western Europe and 12 in Asia.