Source : Perth Now news
International experts gathered in Paris last week to plan how to conserve the world’s hidden freshwater supply.
The two-day workshop was led by Curtin University, and brought together international researchers and practitioners from the Global Research on eDNA in Groundwaters (GReG) project to brainstorm how to conserve one of the planet’s most overlooked ecosystems – groundwater.
Groundwater is world’s largest unfrozen water reserve, providing drinking water for half the global population. However, humans are using it faster than it can replenish, which is harmful for the thousands of species living down there.
The GReG initiative considers groundwater health and biodiversity across the world by studying the unique environmental DNA in water samples. The aim is to work out how to use this finite water source sustainably.
Curtin University’s Dr Mattia Saccò, who works in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences and leads the Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, is largely responsible for the Paris workshop getting off the ground.
He worked alongside Dr Michelle Guzik from Adelaide University and Dr Kathryn Korbel from the University of Sydney as the three chief investigators on the project.
“If water is life, then groundwater is its lifeblood — essential, but hidden, it forms the largest reservoir of unfrozen freshwater globally,” Dr Saccò said.
“Groundwater ecosystems not only support remarkable diversity but also play a crucial role in sustaining the functioning of the global water cycle.
“Consequently, the protection of groundwaters as ecosystems, which can be affected by overextraction, warming or pollution, is essential.”
Entire forests in the Margaret River region are collapsing due to overextraction of groundwater for agricultural purposes. Climate change is also altering rainfall patterns and reducing groundwater refilling.
More than 40 researchers gathered at the National Natural History Museum in Paris to pool data from 47 “groundwater biodiversity hotspots” around the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Australia.
Biodiversity hotspots in Eastern and Central Europe and Australia were among the most biodiverse, with other pockets found in Mexico, South Africa and the US.
Dr Saccò said WA’s Pilbara and Yilgarn regions are major contributors towards global groundwater biodiversity.
“Unravelling these biodiversity ranges is essential to not only cataloguing the species inhabiting these ecosystems, but also to understanding the evolutionary patterns of the resident biota and their role in maintaining the ecological integrity of groundwaters and … associated ecosystems such as wetlands and forests,” he said.
Groundwater is not only a critical source of drinking water for humans, but a key player in Australia’s mining industry. It is estimated to contribute $6.8 billion annually to the country’s GDP.
“Groundwater is crucial from an operational perspective — water extracted from aquifers is used for industrial purposes such as ore processing, washing and supporting workers and mine infrastructure more generally,” Dr Saccò said.
“Unfortunately, the extraction of mineral resources often involves digging considerably big pits that reach the aquifer and therefore expose the groundwater to the risk of contamination and alteration of the hydrological dynamics.
“As a result, a water-wise management of the subterranean resources that assures the conservation of the living biota is even more important under these extractive circumstances.”
Despite its proven importance in Australia’s economy and ecology, groundwater remains overlooked by environmental regulation policies.
Dr Saccò said it is likely due to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.
“Groundwaters are too often regarded as a mere water resource and not as a complex and rich ecosystem. Better synergies across all the actors involved — stakeholders, regulators, researchers — will allow for more effective conservation plans,” he said.
“We should first manage groundwater resources in a more sustainable way, acknowledging that groundwaters are ecosystems that deliver innumerable services to nature and society.
“We should also put groundwaters at the centre of global water cycle, in order to effectively build a resilient future for life on Earth.”
