Improved groundwater management in the Arab region

Location

Cairo, Egypt

Organizer

Contact information

Ziad Khayat
khayat@un.org

With funding from the United Nations Development Account and the Government of Sweden, ESCWA is supporting Arab countries in improving their water security by strengthening their capacities for the sustainable management of groundwater resources; improving access to groundwater relevant data and information through the development of the Arab Groundwater Knowledge Platform; and drawing upon innovations in water technologies, geospatial analysis and remote sensing tools that can be used for monitoring, managing and reporting on scarce water resources.

As part of Cairo Water Week activities, ESCWA is organizing a workshop on improved groundwater management in the Arab region, in coordination with the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands. The workshop aims to:

Present developments on the Arab Groundwater Knowledge Platform and discuss inputs provided by national focal points with the aim of making the platform publicly accessible;
Present and discuss the planned update of the hydrogeological map for the Arab region;
Introduce the manual on the assessment of climate change impacts on groundwater resources, including the needed data, opportunities and challenges to assess the impacts of climate change on groundwater - RICCAR;
Introduce training materials on the use of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission for groundwater storage monitoring and the use of remote sensing for the estimation of crop water consumption from groundwater.

Logos

Outcome document

Meeting outcome

Member countries’ representatives agreed to continue to cooperate in developing the Arab Groundwater Knowledge Platform and to provide the platform with national data and reports related to groundwater that countries wish to share. ESCWA will provide national focal points with a link, designated for them only, to enter the platform, review existing data, and return their comments and suggestions to ESCWA within 1 month from the date of providing the link.
Member countries’ representatives agreed to interact with ESCWA and ACSAD in developing the updated hydrogeological map of the Arab region by sharing their updated hydrogeological data.
ESCWA will send again the list of available data from each country, so that national focal points are aware of the available data.
Member countries’ representatives were invited to express interest in conducting assessments related to adaptation to climate change in a transboundary context, focusing on aquifers.
Potential pilot study areas for the assessment of the impacts of climate change on groundwater resources will be evaluated. ESCWA will work to meet the request of most countries interested in implementing such studies.
Potential pilot study areas for the use of innovative groundwater management techniques will be evaluated. ESCWA will work to meet the request of most countries interested in implementing such studies.

Initiatives: Improved Water Security in Arab States, Climate Resilience through Regional Cooperation