30
O. Mahjoub et al.
1 Introduction
Northern Africa is the Africa’s driest sub-region and characterized by its limited
water resources with an average annual rainfall ranging between 50 mm/year in the
Southern parts and 1000 mm/year in a few parts of the extreme Northwestern area.
Available conventional renewable water resources from surface water and groundwater are insufficient to sustain growing water demand. Existing challenges to water
management under scarcity are compounded by the availability and seasonality
of freshwater resources and overall environmental protection presented by climate
change.
This chapter provides an evaluation of the progress made in the water sector
by countries of the North Africa sub-region. It treats the principal aspects of water
resources while providing an assessment of water resource development and utilization, including conventional (surface water and groundwater) and non-conventional
(brackish water and treated wastewater) resources. It also addresses the main technical solutions that can be implemented to improve water supply and management.
It highlights the research required to adequately respond to current and emerging
concerns about the sustainability of water resources in the region.
2 Assessment of Water Resources
This section gives an overview of the status of conventional water resources, including
renewable and non-renewable resources, in North African countries, with a quantitative assessment and analysis of critical problems related to water resource development. The focus is on updating data on water resources and on highlighting the
risks that arise from climate change impacts.
2.1 Renewable Water Resources
Regional Assessment of water resources in the North Africa is based on information
collected from the national reports completed from the AQUASTAT FAO database
(FAO 2016) on water resources, and the World Bank data (2018). The results are
presented in Table 1.
The North Africa region has a renewable water potential of about 115 km
3 , out of
which 47.3 km
3 are produced within the region. The total internal renewable water
includes 35.66 km
3 of surface water and 18.2 km
3 of groundwater.
Water resources are unevenly distributed across the region: Egypt has slightly
more than half of the total exploitable water resources available in the region, more
than twice as much as the potential of the four countries that are least well-endowed
with water resources (Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya).
O. Mahjoub et al.
1 Introduction
Northern Africa is the Africa’s driest sub-region and characterized by its limited
water resources with an average annual rainfall ranging between 50 mm/year in the
Southern parts and 1000 mm/year in a few parts of the extreme Northwestern area.
Available conventional renewable water resources from surface water and groundwater are insufficient to sustain growing water demand. Existing challenges to water
management under scarcity are compounded by the availability and seasonality
of freshwater resources and overall environmental protection presented by climate
change.
This chapter provides an evaluation of the progress made in the water sector
by countries of the North Africa sub-region. It treats the principal aspects of water
resources while providing an assessment of water resource development and utilization, including conventional (surface water and groundwater) and non-conventional
(brackish water and treated wastewater) resources. It also addresses the main technical solutions that can be implemented to improve water supply and management.
It highlights the research required to adequately respond to current and emerging
concerns about the sustainability of water resources in the region.
2 Assessment of Water Resources
This section gives an overview of the status of conventional water resources, including
renewable and non-renewable resources, in North African countries, with a quantitative assessment and analysis of critical problems related to water resource development. The focus is on updating data on water resources and on highlighting the
risks that arise from climate change impacts.
2.1 Renewable Water Resources
Regional Assessment of water resources in the North Africa is based on information
collected from the national reports completed from the AQUASTAT FAO database
(FAO 2016) on water resources, and the World Bank data (2018). The results are
presented in Table 1.
The North Africa region has a renewable water potential of about 115 km
3 , out of
which 47.3 km
3 are produced within the region. The total internal renewable water
includes 35.66 km
3 of surface water and 18.2 km
3 of groundwater.
Water resources are unevenly distributed across the region: Egypt has slightly
more than half of the total exploitable water resources available in the region, more
than twice as much as the potential of the four countries that are least well-endowed
with water resources (Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya).