National workshop within the framework of the project “Action for cooperation in the water sector in the Mediterranean - NEXUS” 3 - 4 April Hammamet, Tunisia

03/04/2019

For a better management of trans-boundary groundwater in the Northwest Sahara

In partnership with Global Water Partnership, the United Nations Convention for Water and through funding secured by Sweden, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory supports the Nexus Water - Energy - Food - Ecosystems assessment in the NORTH WESTERN SAHARA AQUIFER SYSTEM (SASS). Two consultation workshops were held in this regard, one on Libya and one on Tunisia.

The participants at the Tunisia workshop held on April 3 and 4, who represented sectors, institutions and organizations that work on issues related to the management of the aquifer system, addressed issues related to the rationalization of water use in the agriculture, energy and water sectors. 

The objective of the workshop was to find relevant and feasible solutions, integrating all sectors involved in the water sector.

The North Western  Sahara Aquifer System (SASS), shared by Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, contains considerable water reserves that are however not very renewable and cannot be fully exploited. Facing the water resource challenges ahead of the SASS, a cooperation process between the three countries that share said resources had been set up, through the SASS project implemented by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory.