International Hydrological Programme | International Workshop on Managing Shared Aquifers Resources in Africa

The International Workshop on Managing Shared Aquifer Resources in Africa represented an important step towards regional follow-up of the milestone Statement made in the International Tripoli Conference on 'Regional Aquifer Systems' organized in November 1999. More than 200 experts of different disciplines from 30 countries and from regional and international organisations and associations attended the workshop that was held in Tripoli, 2-4 June 2002. The Workshop was hosted and supported by the General Water Authority of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and jointly convened with the Division of Water Sciences of UNESCO under the Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) initiative. The meeting was co-sponsored by FAO, IAEA, IAH, UNECE and by SADC, OSS and OACT.

The event took place at a critical turning point when important global and regional water initiatives provided the opportunity to raise the role of groundwater and shared aquifer resources in resolving Africa's and the world's water crisis. Water is at the top of the agenda in Africa and the workshop -focused on drawing up the lines for a first continental survey of transboundary aquifers to help in defining the substance and raising the profile of shared aquifer resources and groundwater in general under the recently initiated African Ministerial ongoing AMCOW process. Moreover the meeting directed messages on shared aquifers to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, September 2002 and to the 3rd World Water Forum, Kyoto, March 2003.

At the commencement of the 21st century water scarcity is taking the dimension of growing global risk. The concern is becoming most evident in the arid and semi-arid areas of Africa where shortage and lack of access to water form the main causes for poverty, dwindling public health and food insecurity. In Africa groundwater represents a main water resource as a current and potential strategic source of freshwater essential to supplement the surface water resources and provide for water security in a region increasingly affected by recurrent drought. The African region is endowed with large but in many parts unutilised aquifers that are dominated by sub-regional sedimentary systems of Sahara and Central and Southern Africa. There is so far a scarcity of regional hydrogeological information and gaps in the understanding of the role of groundwater in supporting development, food security, sustaining livelihood and welfare and protecting freshwater, dryland and humid ecosystems. The aquifer resources in Africa are to a large extent transboundary and shared between two or more countries. Yet and differently from surface waters, groundwaters are not directly visible to decision makers and the public and there is often not sufficient scientific evidence to identify and agree at the political level on the perceived transboundary attributes of an aquifer. The situation of current uncertainty is therefore not only a threat to water security and a constraint to the management of regional and local water risks but also a potential cause for growing international pressures and water conflict. Many countries and large urban conglomerations in Africa depend entirely or to a major extent on groundwater and the large shared aquifer resources represent often the only source for drought security and life sustenance of large populations in the semi-arid areas. The groundwater- land linkages are critical to the recharge and humid zones as interdependent shared aquifers and land and eco-systems are threatened from the impacts of accelerated land degradation and desertification from reduced seepage or waterlogging and salinization from raising water tables. These threats which influence very large land areas have reached a sub-regional and transboundary scale in Africa.

Within the overall objective to guarantee sustainable utilization, management and protection of internationally shared groundwater resources in the African region, the specific objectives of the International workshop were to evaluate the scope and the conditions to:

1. Set up an appropriate framework for studying and assessing groundwater resources in African countries with particular focus on Regional Aquifer Systems,
2. Present and discuss case studies on African Regional Aquifer Systems,
3. Provide support to the African countries for improving cooperation to study and assess groundwater resources,
4. Prepare an inventory of the existing African Transboundary Aquifers,
5. Launch the Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) Initiative for Africa
6. Set up of a framework for coordination with NEPA and AMCOW process
7. Support the UN World Water Assessment Programme
8. Provide contribution to the 3rd WWF

Technical and background papers and statements were presented by specialist from African countries and from regional, basin and international organisations and associations in eight technical sessions. The presented material provided a useful baseline to identify gaps and define the scope for assessment of shared aquifers in Africa. It included reports on bilateral and sub-regional cases and background information for development of regional guidelines for management and monitoring of the shared resources.

OPENING CEREMONY

The addresses delivered in the opening ceremony of the International Workshop included The General Manager of the General Water Authority of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mr. Omar A. Salem, The Secretary-General of the Saharan Sahelian Group of African Countries, Dr. Dr. Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari and The Director of the UN-WWAP, Dr Gordon Young. The International Workshop was officially opened by the H.E. Dr. Trekki, Minister of African Unity.

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

1st Technical Session

The session included initial presentations of the programmes and activities of International organizations and sub-regional water sectors, including FAO, IAEA, UN-ECE, UNESCO-IHP, UN-WWAP, ISARM- IAH, the Third World Water Forum and GWMATE/ Word Bank with a presentation by the SADC Water Sector delivered in the 2nd Session. The participants were briefed on the ongoing processes leading to the Johannesburg World Summit on the Environment in 2002 and the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto 2003. The assessment of the shared aquifer resources in Africa, including demands and uses and mitigation of risk, forms a high priority for the implementation of the UN World Water Assessment Programme and following publication of the World Water Report the Assessment will proceed at regional level that will culminate with a UN- sponsored Regional Conference on Water in Africa later in 2003.

Of an immediate relevance for the ISARM initiative for Africa, the participants were briefed on the ongoing NEPAD-AMCOW process, under the African Ministerial Conference on Water recently launched in the Abuja Ministerial Meeting in April 2002. The discussions and the recommendations made in the sessions supported the use of modern technology to identify and define international aquifer systems and ensure their rational and sustainable utilization.

2nd Technical Session

The session was initiated with UNESCO- FAO outlining the scope of the workshop and giving guidance in support of a focused debate in line with the workshop objective. The session included four country presentations by Ghana, Djibouti, Malawi, and Ivory Coast and the sub-regional presentation by the SADC Water Sector. The presentations highlighted and provided examples of issues and requirements, including : a) the importance of joint monitoring of recharge areas in neighbouring countries; b) the importance of shared groundwater in situations of extreme water scarcity, formed by infiltration of surface waters in the neighbouring country, as in the case of Djibouti and Ethiopia. c) shared aquifers left without joint monitoring; and d) a high dependence on shared coastal aquifers for supply of large cities. The SADC Water sector has identified a large number of shared sub-regional aquifers in the Kalahari-Karoo and other systems. The approach to management of shared aquifers in the SADC sub-region is focused on basin organizations and joint surface and groundwater water courses institutions, as provided under the SADC 2000 Protocol on Shared Waters.

The workshop participants considered:

- water scarcity and lack of access to water in a growing number of African countries in the region form major constraints to socio-economic development, while the region is endowed with large and for many parts under-utilised groundwater resources

- that groundwater forms the principal water supply in urban agglomerations, and the only source for accessible and safe supply to the populations in many large rural areas in Africa, and

- the growing current and strategic dependence on shared groundwater as safe water supply to supplement surface water resources and provide for water security in a region which is increasingly affected by recurrent drought,

- the immediate need for safe quality water to support priority initiatives on improved drinking water supplies in Africa,

- the groundwater resources in Africa are to a large extent shared between two or more countries, while the many and large shared aquifer resources in Africa are not well identified or known,

- the shared transboundary aquifer systems, including the renewable and the non-renewable resources representing an invaluable social and cultural inheritance, are of strategic importance for socio-economic and agricultural development, improved welfare and public health, alleviation of poverty and improved food security for the present and current African populations, while growing pressure and lack of proper management of the shared groundwaters and related land resources is resulting in loss of water resources, productive land and life-supporting eco-systems. Therefore

- as a consequence, if left to narrow country based management and use there is risk to impose high social and economic cost and incur loss of resources and benefits both at country and regional level,

- scientific data and analysis of shared aquifers are needed to form the basis for national and/or joint decisions on the development, conservation and protection of groundwater resources and of the interdependent land-based resources,

- the implications of national and/or joint decisions for the aquifer need to be assessed, and mitigating measures taken, based on current available knowledge and data, and that,

- assessment work and mitigating decisions require a tested and reliable framework for cooperation and negotiation,

The participant also recognized,

- the scarcity and uncertainty of information and the gaps in awareness and understanding of the significance and the role of the shared groundwater in supporting socio-development, sustaining livelihood and welfare and protecting life-supporting ecosystems in the Region,

- the gap in the manpower and human resources capacities for joint management, of the shared transboundary aquifers,

- the lack of frameworks and institutional mechanisms for joint management of shared groundwater resources as a first prerequisite for cooperation on shared groundwaters,

- the several on-going and planned initiatives on management of shared aquifer resources, water resources assessment and data management in the region including in North Africa, the Sahara-Sahel and the SADC sub-region.

WORKSHOP TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND INDICATIONS

The participants in the workshop made the following detailed suggestions related to technical and institutional aspects of management of shared aquifer resources in Africa. These suggestions are reconciled and organized under three categories: a. inventory and assessment of shared aquifers in Africa; b. policy guidelines for sustainable development; c. activities and requirements under the ISARM Africa Programme The gist of these suggestions is reflected in the Tripoli Workshop Recommendations.

a. Inventory and assessment of shared aquifers in Africa

- African countries, national and regional institutions and organizations are encouraged to prepare a regional inventory of the existing, known shared aquifer systems in Africa, based on updated rapid country assessments on groundwater resources shared with adjacent countries, by

- The communications between nearby countries sharing groundwater resources should be improved by creating a specific regional WEB-site where countries could deposit and access basic data related to shared aquifers as one temporary measure prior to formal consultations and data exchange mechanisms,

- Attention should be given to improve assessment of demands as present water abstractions and future water demands from shared aquifers in Africa establishing: water abstractions and contamination by (a) sectors (agriculture, industry, water supply), by (b) national use of shared aquifers, and (c) predict future water demands based on national water policy and reasonable assumptions on population dynamics, consumption patterns and socio-economic development. The development of demand -related information systems for shared groundwaters is recommended to commence at regional or sub-regional level.

- Modern methodology should be used for hydrogeological investigations of the shared aquifer resources, such as isotope hydrology studies, in a multi-disciplinary context of shared aquifers to, provide information for sustainable management of shared aquifer system, assess potentials and support the development of guidelines for management of non-renewable groundwaters.

b. Policy guidelines for sustainable development and cooperation

It was recommended that attention should be given to:

- Manage shared aquifer resources, jointly with surface water resources, in an integrated manner based on defined hydrological units and water bodies and considering risk and uncertainty,
- Utilize shared aquifer resources efficiently and equitably for socio-economic development for optimal joint benefits, minimizing social, economic and environmental risk,
- Identify opportunities for development and investments for socio-economic development with poverty alleviation and institutional and manpower capacity building,
- Attend to environmental risk, including impacts of land degradation and threats to terrestrial and freshwater eco-systems,

- Develop regional policy Guidelines for management of shared aquifer systems, incorporating aspects of development, protection and control, institutional mechanisms and definition of appropriate hydrological units
- Establish regional agreements and frameworks providing for institutional arrangements, ensuring continuity and stability of cooperation in the shared aquifers. Countries sharing one or more aquifers are encouraged to forge international cooperation in the management of such groundwater basins by establishing commissions or other frameworks, through an appropriate bi- or multi-lateral legal instrument . Available state practice need to be inventoried and studied for the guidance of states, in particular in relation to non-renewable shared aquifers
- Initially, prior to the establishment of a formal framework for cooperation, states contemplating development and management measures on a shared aquifer should assess transboundary impacts and inform other states concerned taking into account the impacts in their development and management decisions. Operational EIA procedures for protection and monitoring of shared aquifers should be developed and applied

c. Activities and requirements under the ISARM initiative for Africa

The level of knowledge of the aquifers and he water resources varies highly in Africa and this lack of balance in knowledge levels should be taken into account when allocating and making available scientific and technical assistance in the region. African countries and national and regional organizations should be supported by the international cooperation and donors in order to:

- Review capacities for joint management of shared aquifer resources in the region and establish and implement a regional programme to strengthen manpower and institutional capacities at regional and national level,
- Build on and further develop the experience and the manpower resources within the region and, in particular draw from the experience of the aquifer studies in the North African and Magreb sub-region and transfer and apply this knowledge to other African sub-regions, supporting the strengthen of the coordination among regional organizations
- Build on and use established networks and UNESCO supported university water resources chairs and centers in the region for dissemination and exchange of information and experience

UNESCO/IHP could play a crucial role in close coordination with the AMCOW process in supporting regional programmes on groundwater studies and development of decision support tools for the management of groundwater resources.

- Implement, draw on and disseminate management experience from case studies such as:

- Exchange international experience from outside the African region on studies and projects on the management of shared aquifer systems including transboundary aquifers in Europe, the Guarani aquifer in Latin America and others, and

- Identify and formulate project activities to support joint management, harmonized development and resource protection of shared aquifer systems in Africa.

- The project on the shared Iullemeden aquifer, formulated and endorsed by the Governments of Mali, Niger and Nigeria, represents a priority

The workshop participants therefore call on the UN agencies, in particular UNESCO/IHP, FAO, IAEA, UNECE, UNESCWA, UNECA, and the UNWWAP, together with international and regional funding institutions and donors and other external development partners to assist the African countries and the regional institutions and organizations.

d. Regional cooperation frameworks

Promote and develop the appropriate level of awareness and emphasis on shared groundwaters in Africa, under the NEPAD and AMCOW process, and in close contact with related activities of regional institutions and centres.

Promote global recognition and awareness of the social, cultural and environmental values of shared aquifers.

e. Propose that one or more of the large sub-regional aquifers in the semi-arid regions of Africa, that serve as the only available source for water supply, drought security and life sustenance be recognized as UNESCO World Heritage site.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Bearing in mind the Declaration of African Ministers responsible for Water Resources at the International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn, Germany, 3 to 7 December 2001; and the Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water - A Key to Sustainable Development in Africa, made at the Launch of the African Ministerial Conference on Water (AMCOW) in Abuja, Nigeria, 29-30 April 2002; and

Considering the Statement of the Tripoli International Conference 1999, related to the management of shared aquifers,

We, the participants in this Workshop, recognize that:

- Water scarcity in most African countries implies a serious threat to sustainable and balanced socio-economic growth. However, the region is endowed with, large, and for many parts under-utilized, groundwater resources, often the only source for fresh water, which are shared by two or more countries,

- There is growing demand for water resources but there is limitation of current management, arising from limited financial resources, lack of awareness and inadequate appreciation of the role of groundwater in national and regional development,

- This workshop marks a clear milestone, demonstrating the extent to which shared aquifer resources are able to contribute to human development, alleviation of poverty and improved food security.

- The Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) initiative is an useful step towards the co-ordination of efforts on shared groundwater resources.

We the participants consider that:

- To benefit from the value of these resources, countries sharing them should be encouraged to negotiate and implement joint or co-ordinated management programmes and measures, through the strengthening of their respective institutions, building capacities, raising awareness, encouraging investments and supportive legal frameworks,

- Any regional integrated water resources policy and programme should include groundwater resources and pay attention to shared aquifers.

We recommend that:

A. The shared aquifers of Africa be inventoried, with the assistance of the countries concerned and with the participation of related regional and international organizations

B. Consideration be given to the usefulness of developing policy guidelines for sound and sustainable development of shared aquifers, including the establishment and application of operational Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures for protection and monitoring of shared aquifers,

C. The African Initiative on Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM), and relevant activities, should draw on the existing experience in Africa and make use and develop the manpower resources available at regional and national levels

D. UNESCO, FAO, UNECE, UNECA, UNESCWA, IAEA, UNEP and other United Nations agencies should support, with the means at their disposal, the Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) African Initiative

E. Donors should be encouraged to lend their support to African Countries and regional institutions to conduct the assessment and improve the management of African Shared Aquifer Systems

We further recommend that:

F. The profile of shared aquifers should be raised high on the agenda of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, September 2002 and at the 3rd World Water Forum, Kyoto, March 2003

G. The assessment of the shared aquifer resources in Africa including demand, uses and mitigation of risk should be incorporated in the UN World Water Assessment Programme

H. The above recommendations should be brought to the attention of the African Ministers through the NEPAD and that the African ISARM initiative should be included in the AMCOW process.