The use of groundwater as an alternative water source for agricultural production in southern Lao PDR and the implications for policymakers

Groundwater is fast becoming an alternative source of fresh water for many rural communities in southern Laos in response to increasing rainfall variability and distribution, in conjunction with increasing competition for surface water resources, including for agriculture, hydropower and mining. However, characterisation of the region's aquifer system is based largely on information derived from hydrogeological studies in neighbouring parts of the Lower Mekong River Basin. The first objective of the research presented in this paper was to identify the nature and extent of the aquifer system, and seasonal groundwater behaviour, in the Soukhouma district, in southern Laos' Champassak province. The second objective was to explore the potential implications of overextraction of the groundwater resource. Our research findings highlight the need for well-informed guidelines and policy interventions for sustainable groundwater development in this region.