Regional and National efforts

The ‘Joint Authority’

In the early 1970s, Egypt and Libya initiated a process for the four NSAS countries to start cooperating in managing NSAS water resources. In 1992, it was formalized with the creation of the Joint Authority for the Management of the NSAS System. Sudan joined in 1996 and Chad followed in 1999. Its original objectives were to oversee strategic planning, develop an NSAS monitoring programme and exchange data and information on water resources and extraction.

The respective National Project Coordinator (NPC) institutions for the Joint Authority are the Research Institute for Groundwater in Egypt, the General Water Authority of the Secretariat of Agriculture in Libya, the Groundwater and Wadis Directorate in Sudan and the Direction de l`Hydraulique of MEE in Chad.

Successes include an agreement to develop a regional monitoring network with 60 existing wells and 14 recommended new wells. A regional strategy assessed the future impacts from extractions and made recommendations for minimizing impacts. Socio-economic aspects were also proposed to address the harmonisation of groundwater access and availability between regions, improve the understanding of and communication with indigenous communities, and adapt development plans to local conditions.

This cooperation was activated from 1997-2002 through baseline activities supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the project management of the inter-regional organization, the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE). This resulted in a joint survey of the socio-economic development policies and plans in the aquifer areas and the establishment of the NSAS Regional Information System (NARIS) database. NARIS modelling scenarios provided initial indications of the impacts on water levels and water quality over a sample period of 60 years of development and abstractions, while the model still needs to be adapted for operational use.

The Nubian countries are currently planning for the expansion of aquifer monitoring and observation well networks. There remain, however, significant data and capacity gaps.