Hello, my name is Belay, and I am beginning my PhD as one of the Cohort 6 students in the QUADRAT DTP at the School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen. My PhD project is titled “Sustainable Management of Fresh Groundwater Resources in Coastal East Africa: Using Lessons from the Past to Build Future Resilience to Climate and Environmental Changes.”
Before coming to Aberdeen, I completed my BSc in Geology and MSc in Hydrogeology at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. In my view, Ethiopia is one of the most ideal places to study geosciences, offering a ‘textbook’ of geology with a billion years of geological history—from basement metamorphic rocks to continental and marine sediments—as well as an active continental rift zone that is also the cradle of humankind.
Growing up in East Africa, I witnessed first-hand the challenges and problems caused by unreliable freshwater supplies. Long queues for a jerrycan of water, with women and children waiting for hours, were a common sight. Water rationing, unpredictable access and poor water quality are still common experiences. It’s the main reason that inspired me to pursue my MSc degree in Hydrogeology – to combine my passion for research with a field of significant societal importance. After completing my MSc, I worked as a lecturer at a university, before travelling to The Netherlands for another MSc.
In the Netherlands, I studied MSc in Water and Sustainable Development at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, specialising in hydrological sciences. This MSc helped me to understand water challenges from a multitude of perspectives and exposure to variable hydro(geo)logical environments. I had the opportunity to conduct field works in Dutch coastal areas and the mountains and valleys of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France. For my MSc thesis, I researched the availability of fresh groundwater resources in small islands in the Maldives. The fieldwork in the Maldives particularly helped me understand the challenges these islands face, despite their reputation as a paradise – with clear blue waters and beautiful beaches.
My PhD project aims to assess the availability of fresh groundwater to support the future development of coastal and island communities on the East African coast. High coastal population growth rates, along with increasing water demand and environmental changes – such as climate change – are putting enormous pressure on coastal groundwater resources. Groundwater is more resilient to increasing climatic extremes and is the only source of water during droughts, but if over-extracted, is vulnerable to depletion and underground salinisation from the ocean. In East Africa, increased birth rates, development and migration from inland areas have increased demand for water and land leading to poor sanitation and water supply. Groundwater is often the only year-long reliable source of freshwater essential for sanitation, agriculture, and consumption but saline intrusion causes long-term contamination.
Outside my research, I enjoy watching and playing football, as well as listening to music, primarily Ethiopian music.
Overall, I am excited to begin my PhD and explore this research area, which I believe will have significant scientific and societal impacts, even though I am only a few weeks into the program.
