This chapter from the book 'Rethinking the approach to groundwater and food security' by FAO informs that the complexity of flow within aquifers requires extensive data and detailed modelling to answer development questions and that even with this, accurate analysis of the water balance is often complicated by inflows and losses that are difficult to identify, monitor or interpret. However, relatively simple data, such as specific water levels in a carefully designed network of monitoring wells, can be combined with estimates of rainfall input to provide key indications of groundwater dynamics.

However, argues the chapter, unless monitoring networks are designed carefully and the data subject to careful analysis, water-level changes can be difficult to interpret. Long-term records of water-level changes are probably the single most important piece of data necessary to monitor changes in groundwater availability. However, having such information is only the first step. In addition, there needs to be a clear mechanism to feed the information into formal planning processes. The mechanism also needs to ensurethat data are transparently available to the user groups whose consensus would be required for effective action to limit drawdown to commonly acceptable levels.

The chapter is divided into the following sections:

• Nature and limitations of available data
• Groundwater in China
• Problems in accessing groundwater data
• Implications for food security
• The viability of groundwater management
• Groundwater monitoring in India
• Analytical methods and the role of groundwater data in development finance
• Recharge estimation
• Abstraction estimation
• Methodological improvements
• Data collection and quality
• Variability
• Water-level fluctuations
• Implications
• Evaluation summary
• Conclusions on groundwater data and analysis

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