Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

S H A R I N G W A T E R : D E F I N I N G A C O M M O N I N T E R E S T / 3 1 7Map 12.4: Internationally shared aquifers in northern AfricaBorder crossing river basins:1. The Nile2. Niger3. Senegal4. The Gambia5. Volta6. Chari7. Guir-Saoura8. Mejerdah9. Juba-ShebelleBorder crossing aquifersThis map shows the distribution of several major transboundary aquifers underlying particularly water-stressed regions of northern Africa. Groundwater is an especiallycomplex problem in terms of sharing the resource. The abundance of shared aquifers in this area underscores the importance of treaties and cooperative management.Source: Based on OSS and UNESCO, 1997, in UNESCO, 2001.transboundary rivers, no such estimates exist for transboundaryaquifers (World Bank, 1998).While the groundwater component of the hydrological cycle iswell understood, international water policy suffers from inadequateappreciation of its behaviour; for example the 1997 UN Conventionon International Watercourses only refers to some groundwaters, butnot all. The important role of groundwater in maintaining base flowsin rivers and support to wetlands in the transboundary context hasnot yet been incorporated into most water-related conventions.Transboundary aquifers can also be the host for other humanrequirements that may be shared, notably geothermal heat (Roth etal., 2001). Consequently, integrated and holistic transboundarywater resource management policies are constrained by this gap ininternational legislation. An important contribution to improvedmonitoring of transboundary aquifers has been made by the UnitedNations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which hasdeveloped appropriate guidelines (UNECE, 2000). Pilot projectsaimed at the application of these guidelines are just starting inEurope (Arnold and Uil, 2001).As a resource essential for life, yet hidden from view, the soundnational development of groundwater is sometimes constrained bycontradicting socio-economic, institutional, legal, cultural and ethicalpolicy frameworks. In a transboundary context, these can be evenfurther amplified by contrasting levels of knowledge, capacities andinstitutional frameworks on either side of many internationalboundaries.Whereas there are examples of how such issues have beendealt with in managing transboundary rivers, again there is noequivalent body of knowledge for the management oftransboundary aquifers, the majority of which have not beeninventoried. A recent UNECE survey of Europe indicated that thereare over 100 transboundary aquifers in Europe (Convention on theProtection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and InternationalLakes, 1999). Map 12.4 shows the distribution of several majorNorth African aquifers underlying regions of acute water shortage. Aworldwide survey of significant transboundary aquifers has recentlybeen initiated through a collaboration of several internationalagencies (UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization], FAO, IAH [International Association ofHydrogeologists], UNECE), under the ISARM (Internationally SharedAquifer Resource Management) Initiative (Puri, 2001b). This surveywill seek to fill the information gaps through a multidisciplinaryassessment of internationally shared aquifers. For the soundmanagement of transboundary aquifers the scientific, socio-