The goal of the Acacia Institute is to highlight the important role of groundwater in hydrological processes, as well as groundwater’s importance to society. Acacia also wants to accommodate the need for groundwater knowledge and to offer recommendations in those areas where the awareness of the importance of groundwater is emerging.
Acacia’s mission is to do this:
– by lobbying in order to strengthen the position of groundwater on the political agenda, and
– by promoting knowledge exchange and communication among all the stakeholders in groundwater related issues and
– supporting governments, industries, and donor agencies in formulating policy and managing programs.
The Acacia Institute wants to do this as a not-for-profit foundation, based at the Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Within the university Acacia has strong relations with relevant areas of expertise such as geology, catchment hydrology, bio-geochemistry and water technology, but also economy, resource management and communication. The Acacia Institute is an independent, demand-oriented organisation with an international scope. To maintain its versatility Acacia wants to remain small. In order to accomplish this, Acacia is operating as a broker in a network, forming alliances with other organisations and experts.