More People, More Development

Tapping the NSAS for more

"Threats to the NSAS are now escalating. In each country, the demand for water is increasing as human populations rise, in some cases exponentially, and often without significant national efforts to control population growth. In Egypt, for example, the population rose from about 26 million to 68 million between 1960 and 2004.

For both Sudan and Egypt, the Nile River and its tributaries have always served as the major source of freshwater. Recently, however, the two Nile Basin countries are experiencing the Nile’s limitations and finiteness. For Chad and Libya, a major river such as the Nile does not even exist. As a result, 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 such as rural development, population re-distribution and urban coastal development. In some areas, groundwater has become the bedrock of national development policy.

Across the aquifer, Egypt and Libya are now constantly tapping NSAS reserves in earnest. Such efforts by Chad and Sudan are still in their infancy but the use of strategic NSAS reserves will probably increase there over time.

In all four countries, there are water managers who dream about blooming deserts in the future. Others are more concerned about dropping groundwater levels.