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T
ransboundary
W
ater
M
anagement
Secretary of Agriculture of Libya in 2007. The centre assumed its
duties in 2008 in Tripoli after the ratification of the agreement by the
Libyan authorities.
Key objectives were defined for the centre. It aims to generate and
provide scientific and technical information and support the exchange
of information on shared groundwater management issues, with
emphasis on Africa and the Arab states. It will promote cooperation
on multidisciplinary research and the compilation of case studies on
shared groundwater management in the region involving international
institutions and networks, especially those under the UNESCO/IHP
and World Meteorological Organization auspices. It will undertake
capacity building on integrated water and agriculture management
within the African region at institutional, professional and educational
levels, including awareness raising activities to the general public and
to specific targeted audiences. In addition to seeking and responding to
invitations for cooperation with international institutions and centres, it
will advance methodology in the field of shared groundwater manage-
ment, support and cooperation with the IHP Internationally Shared
Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) project.
Addressing transboundary aquifer issues
During the past three decades and in coordination with relevant inter-
national organizations, particularly UNESCO, Libya has hosted a
number of technical and political conferences of paramount importance
in addressing transboundary aquifer issues in Africa and the world.
Apart from active participation in international and regional events
on groundwater management in general and transboundary aquifers
in particular, the Libyan IHP national committee, in coordination
with UNESCO, organized three international conferences. The first
was the International Conference on Regional Aquifer Systems in
Arid Zones – Managing Non-renewable Resources, held in Tripoli in
November 1999. The conference marked a milestone in the discussion
of the emerging concept of regional aquifers and provided a general
understanding of non-renewable groundwater resources. It was also
instrumental in launching the UNESCO ISARM initiative.
The other two main events are the International Conferences on
Managing Shared Aquifer Resources in Africa, held in Tripoli in June
2002 and May 2008. These conferences focused more specifically on
the technical components of transboundary aquifers in Africa and
succeeded in providing sound scientific data. They have also contrib-
uted to the creation of networks of experts who, over
the years, have continued to engage with the realization
of rational management and sustainable development
issues of transboundary aquifers in the continent. They
succeeded in providing a suitable atmosphere for African
and international experts to debate issues related to
shared aquifers in the region, and formed a platform
to highlight and discuss the activities of the UNESCO
ISARM initiative in Africa with emphasis on expanding
the existing network of experts and making proposals
for new subregional activities. The technical sessions
reviewed experiences on existing scientific knowledge,
leading to the establishment of a plan of action for shared
aquifer resources management in Africa.
At the political level and in collaboration with the
African Union, Food and Agriculture Organization and
a number of competent organizations, Libya managed
to organize two major events, namely the Extraordinary
Summit of the African General Assembly of the Heads
of State and Government on Agriculture and Water
(Sirte, 2004) and the High Level Conference on Water
for Agriculture and Energy in Africa – The Challenges
of Climate Change (Sirte, 2008). Item six of the Sirte
Declaration of the African Union extraordinary summit
urged member states to “encourage bilateral agreement
on shared water management.”
Management of shared aquifers faces major challenges,
with serious implications for the progress of hydrogeo-
logical studies and data collection campaigns as a result
of their wide geographical spread under barren desert
conditions. For economic and technical reasons, the bulk
of extracted water originates from shallow and inter-
mediate aquifers and rarely from deeper horizons. This
raises the degree of uncertainty in mathematical models.
Nevertheless, geological, geophysical and hydrogeological
data generated by oil exploration activities are invaluable
in filling gaps while conducting regional studies. Other
challenges that still need to be properly addressed include
the lack of necessary funds needed to carry out special
technical tasks and provide training for competent indi-
viduals. An equally important challenge is the lack of a
binding legal framework. National legislation often defines
priorities for water use in view of available alternatives.
In Libya as in some other countries, for example, water
scarcity led to the justification of groundwater mining as
a transitory solution to close the gap between supply and
demand, a matter that needs to be properly addressed by
the joint consultation mechanisms.
Libya has acquired broad experience in the manage-
ment of shared aquifer systems through a long history of
close and transparent collaboration with neighbouring
countries. This culminated in the establishment of joint
institutions focusing on the exchange of information,
conducting regional studies and planning for rational
exploitation of the resource. Libya is looking forward to
the enactment of an international law that supersedes
national legislation with regard to transboundary aquifers
and governs the equitable use and protection of the shared
resources to achieve sustainable development for all.
Capacity building on integrated water and agriculture management is one objective
of the UNESCO IHP regional centre
Image: GWA Libya