Background

Ancient Waters, Unique Landscapes

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) is one of the largest and most important underground aquifers in the world. One reason is because it’s the world’s largest ‘fossil’ water aquifer system meaning that the water is very, very old. Lying beneath the four African countries of Chad, Egypt, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya), and Sudan, it covers some two million sq km of land. The NSAS also has surprisingly rich landscapes and species such as barbary sheep, cheetah, and hook-billed blind snakes.

More People, More Development

In each country, the demand for water is increasing as human populations rise. Given the scarcity of surface water resources for all four NSAS countries, groundwater has been identified as the biggest future source of water to meet growing demands. Each of the four countries has given top priority to linking NSAS groundwater development to broader national development goals, from re-distributing human populations to transporting massive volumes of water from the desert to the seaside.

Irrational Use

Future projections for the aquifer indicate that total annual groundwater abstraction will more than double in a 50 to 100 year period. Can the NSAS reserves meet such demand? The answer is a definite ‘maybe’. Some over-abstraction has already begun to take place, at times leading to desertification and ecosystem and habitat destruction. Other major human pressures include agricultural irrigation and climate change.

Regional and National Efforts

The four NSAS countries have all signed up to the international Convention on Biodiversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. In 1992, the ‘Joint Authority for the Management of the NSAS System’ was created by the four Nubian countries to enhance cooperation in managing NSAS water resources. The IAEA has and continues to work with NSAS countries to address water resource management issues through national, multi-country regional projects — foundations for the larger ‘Nubian Project’.

Unlocking the Underground Mysteries

Despite the research done to date, there is still a shortage of understanding about how the NSAS works. Even less is known about the inter-linkages between water, rising populations, poor land resource use, land degradation and desertification, ecosystem destruction, species, and climate change. Improving the information base is thus the key first step, requiring additional research through the application of modern technology -- in particular, the isotope hydrology techniques of the IAEA.