Information workshop on the NWSAS transboundary water resources, December 12, 2022 – Tripoli

The Coordination Unit of the North Western Sahara Aquifer System Consultation Mechanism (NWSAS-CM), held a national information and awareness workshop on the socio-economic issues of the NWSAS in Libya, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Water Resources in Tripoli.

The meeting took place with the presence of His Excellency Mr. Tariq Abdussalam Bouflikale, Minister of Water Resources of the Government of National Unity and experts and representatives of institutions and structures responsible for the management, monitoring and exploitation of the NWSAS deep-seated in Libya.

The meeting made it possible to exchange on the management of shared transboundary water of the North Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS) and the Tunisian-Libyan Djeffara, and gave the opportunity to present the Consultation Mechanism activities as well as the updated situation of said aquifers.

Discussions focused on the need to identify national priorities for the management of these shared resources and on the possibilities for strengthening the current administrative structure of the Consultation Mechanism.

It is worth recalling that the NWSAS is highly important for the three countries sharing the aquifer. In fact, it is the main water resource that supports economic and social development, and that covers multiple needs from the supply of populations with drinking water, to irrigation and livestock, and even the demand linked to tourism and industrial activities.

Since it was created in 2007, the Coordination Unit of the North Western Sahara Aquifer System Consultation Mechanism (NWSAS-CM), has been working to achieve the objectives through better dissemination of information, the reinforcement of dialogue with the decision-makers at the level of development programs, as well as the capacity building of the technical staff responsible for the management of these strategic water resources, in the three countries (Algeria, Libya and Tunisia).