The Nubian Project

Ground-breaking challenge

The NSAS is not the only region in the world where groundwater and aquifer dynamics remain a mystery.

There are many more aquifers, within and beyond Africa, where more exploration and understanding are needed. Globally, the fields of groundwater science, management and law are still in their infancy, far less developed than their big brothers in the water world including river basins and the earth’s seas.

That’s a rather scary prospect given that some aquifer reserves in arid areas such as the NSAS are basically non-renewable with limited life times. The water is being used up without really knowing what’s happening. This also means that plans need to be developed for that time in the future when the water finally does run dry.

Given this global context, the ‘IAEA/UNDP/GEF Nubian Project’ is ground-breaking, cutting-edge and challenging. Launched 16 July 2006 and now in full progress, it is expected to last 36 months, and possibly lead to a broader follow-up project.

The project is ground-breaking because it is one of the first international waters projects for a transboundary aquifer. It will therefore show the way for other such aquifers and provide valuable lessons learned.

It is cutting-edge because it will be using some of the most modern scientific techniques in existence, with a focus on ‘isotope hydrology’ provided by the IAEA, to answer questions about how the NSAS works, how people impact it and how to wisely manage it.

Finally, the project is extremely challenging for the simple reason that many of the questions, activities and outputs reached will be new to those involved. The new issues posed by groundwater require new answers and the development of enhanced multi-country management structures and monitoring programmes and even possibly an enhanced legal mechanism such as a convention for the NSAS.

In other words, while project partners are bringing in a wealth of experience, they will also ‘learn by doing’, technically known as ‘adaptive management’.

This is only the beginning of a process for the NSAS countries. Most likely, it’s also a new frontier for the world, to help ensure that groundwater resources everywhere are wisely and equitably managed by all and for all.