48
O. Mahjoub et al.
6 Technical Solutions and Research Challenges
Adaptive technical measures and the resulting capacity of water resources is likely
to differ according to economic, social, and environmental conditions, as well as
availability and access to technology in all sectors and levels, from local to national.
In many cases, technology adoption is limited by inadequate financial resources and
knowledge.
Given these constraints, a wide range of ambitious programs and technical
measures have been initiated by regional governments to improve water supply and
management, including the improvement of water efficiency, and the control or reallocation of water consumption. These initiatives are the central ambition of many
development programs. They include mainly
• Maximizing available surface and renewable groundwater resources by building
large and hillside dams, and constructing and rehabilitating tube wells, particularly
in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco;
• Improving the water efficiency of rain-fed and irrigated agriculture to enhance
production and preserve water in all areas. This is an integral part of the approach
of almost all countries where the overall irrigation efficiency is usually less than
50%;
• Promoting and adopting modern irrigation projects, including creating small and
medium facilities, and extending, renovating, and modernizing existing ones;
• Developing and extending interregional water transfer networks among countries
such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, where water resources are not uniformly
distributed;
• Protecting water quality and access to safe water and adequate sanitation. This
is mainly a concern of the Mauritania government, which is still lagging far
behind other regional countries: only one-third of the population has access to
safe, drinkable water, and adequate sanitation;
• Increasing structures for water harvesting and groundwater recharge at large-,
medium-, and small-scale facilities across all countries;
• Improving irrigation efficiencies and use of efficient irrigation systems;
• Saving water by reinforcing and improving water economy techniques for efficient
irrigation;
• Encouraging the adequate reuse of wastewater as an alternative water resource.
This practice has not been sufficiently adopted in almost any country due to
technical and socioeconomic constraints;
• Developing brackish and seawater desalination plants, particularly in Tunisia,
Egypt and Libya, where the total amount of domestic water is scarce and almost
fully exploited, and where the transfer from other regions is not economically
feasible. Algeria and Morocco, where resources are most vulnerable to climate
change, could face a serious problem of water quality; and
• Strengthening mechanisms to improve data and information availability as a tool
to guide planning, monitoring, and assessment of water resources, in particular
for joint management of international shared aquifers and river basins.
O. Mahjoub et al.
6 Technical Solutions and Research Challenges
Adaptive technical measures and the resulting capacity of water resources is likely
to differ according to economic, social, and environmental conditions, as well as
availability and access to technology in all sectors and levels, from local to national.
In many cases, technology adoption is limited by inadequate financial resources and
knowledge.
Given these constraints, a wide range of ambitious programs and technical
measures have been initiated by regional governments to improve water supply and
management, including the improvement of water efficiency, and the control or reallocation of water consumption. These initiatives are the central ambition of many
development programs. They include mainly
• Maximizing available surface and renewable groundwater resources by building
large and hillside dams, and constructing and rehabilitating tube wells, particularly
in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco;
• Improving the water efficiency of rain-fed and irrigated agriculture to enhance
production and preserve water in all areas. This is an integral part of the approach
of almost all countries where the overall irrigation efficiency is usually less than
50%;
• Promoting and adopting modern irrigation projects, including creating small and
medium facilities, and extending, renovating, and modernizing existing ones;
• Developing and extending interregional water transfer networks among countries
such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, where water resources are not uniformly
distributed;
• Protecting water quality and access to safe water and adequate sanitation. This
is mainly a concern of the Mauritania government, which is still lagging far
behind other regional countries: only one-third of the population has access to
safe, drinkable water, and adequate sanitation;
• Increasing structures for water harvesting and groundwater recharge at large-,
medium-, and small-scale facilities across all countries;
• Improving irrigation efficiencies and use of efficient irrigation systems;
• Saving water by reinforcing and improving water economy techniques for efficient
irrigation;
• Encouraging the adequate reuse of wastewater as an alternative water resource.
This practice has not been sufficiently adopted in almost any country due to
technical and socioeconomic constraints;
• Developing brackish and seawater desalination plants, particularly in Tunisia,
Egypt and Libya, where the total amount of domestic water is scarce and almost
fully exploited, and where the transfer from other regions is not economically
feasible. Algeria and Morocco, where resources are most vulnerable to climate
change, could face a serious problem of water quality; and
• Strengthening mechanisms to improve data and information availability as a tool
to guide planning, monitoring, and assessment of water resources, in particular
for joint management of international shared aquifers and river basins.