Libya, Algeria, Tunisia sign agreement to share Sahara aquifer water

By Rédaction Africanews with AFP

Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia on Wednesday agreed to a “rational and equitable” of the water in a giant aquifer in the Sahara that straddles all three nations.

The so-called “Tripoli Declaration” stresses the importance of “strengthening coordination and exchanges to ensure sustainable use” of the non-renewable resource.

“The challenges facing our water resources, whether related to climate change or rising demand, require us to redouble our efforts and strengthen coordination and integration among ourselves,” said Libya’s minister of water resources, Hosni Aouidat**.**

The North-Western Sahara Aquifer System is one of the world’s largest groundwater reserves and has been exploited for centuries via springs and surface wells.

An increasing number of boreholes, which reach as far as 1,000 metres below ground, are speeding up the extraction rate.

Just under two-thirds of the underground reserves, estimated at more than 40 trillion cubic metres of fossil water, are located beneath Algeria, with a little under a third below Libya and eight percent beneath Tunisia.

The mechanism is also intended to prevent pollution and overexploitation of the water, with management and monitoring to be carried out jointly by the three countries.

On the basis of mathematical models, “each country will be allocated a quota. Water levels will be monitored, as well as other risks such as environmental pollution,” said Hussein al-Talou, head of research at the Libyan Ministry of Water Resources.

Libya is one of the driest countries in the world and relies on the colossal, Gaddafi-era “Great Man-Made River” to transports fossil water from the south via giant pipelines.