The groundwater systems and water quality programme (GWSWQ) of BGS is located in Wallingford, together with a sister NERC institute, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH Wallingford), and a third water resource centre, Hydraulics Research Ltd (HR Wallingford). BGS, CEH and HR form the core members of a new DFID Resource Centre - OASIS - launched in 2002 to help DFID, and its partners, deliver their contribution to the Millennium Development Goals. OASIS provides access to expertise in all areas of water resource development and management through a network of over 20 water resource institutions. In addition, BGS and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) host the waterandlivelihoods.org website, aimed at creating and sharing knowledge on water - livelihood issues.

Working with government, industry, donor agency and NGO partners, recent water-related work of BGS, CEH and HR which has integrated livelihoods thinking has included:

• drought planning in relation to livelihood security (as opposed to food or water security), and the development of sustainable community water supplies in semi-arid regions, including techniques to identify and measure benefits to livelihood security
• understanding the relationships between groundwater quality, health and livelihoods, in the context of both natural (e.g. fluoride) and anthropogenic (e.g. on-site sanitation) threats, with guidance on mitigation
• development of integrated water resource management and protection strategies in rural and urban areas with a range of stakeholders, based on analyses of end user needs
• irrigation issues, including gender-sensitive design of systems, the contribution of informal irrigation to livelihood security in peri-urban areas and irrigation charging