Sub-Component

Coastal aquifers and groundwater in the Mediterranean

are threatened by the activities they support
There are, however, costs associated with the benets provided by coastal aquifers and groundwater in the Mediterranean. Extraction of groundwater resources from coastal aquifers has caused the lowering of water tables, and the resulting salt water intrusion in these aquifers is now a common problem in the region. Agricultural activities consume water resources and can degrade groundwater reserves by introducing saline and contaminated irrigation return ows containing pesticides and fertilizers. Groundwater quality is further negatively impacted by the discharge of inadequately treated domestic wastewater, leachate from municipal landlls, and from industrial activities that include storage and disposal of petrochemicals. As populations along the Mediterranean coastal zone continue to increase the Plan Blue estimates there will be 600 million people in the area by 2050 countries must remain vigilant to ensure that groundwater and aquifers remain a sustainable source of water for future generations.

In the context of Sub-Component 1.1 of the MedPartnership Project, the UNESCO-IHP aims to reverse trends of overextraction and quality degradation in coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean

by means of
1. An update to the 2005 Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem, with a special focus on coastal aquifers 2. Policy recommendations for the Strategic Action Plans regarding the management of coastal aquifers 3. A regional report on the assessment of risk and uncertainty related to the management of coastal aquifers 4. A regional report on the legal, institutional and policy aspects for the management of coastal aquifers 5. A geo-referenced interactive information system to serve as a platform for the exchange of project knowledge and documents 6. A regional action plan on coastal aquifers 7. A set of activities on eco-hydrogeology applications for the management and protection of coastal wetlands, including a regional report on the state of wetlands in the region, a methodology and guidelines on the groundwater resources management with special focus on groundwater dependent wetlands, and also a map of selected groundwater dependent coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean 8. Promotion and active use of spatial technology applications for coastal aquifer management 9. Case studies that demonstrate the use of vulnerability mapping for coastal aquifers, the interactions between coastal aquifers and wetland ecosystems, and the conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources UNESCOs International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) is the intergovernmental programme of the UN system devoted to water research, water resources management, education and capacity building in the eld of water. SC-2013/WS/17 National Committees form the backbone of the UNESCO-IHP and are fundamental to ensuring the widest possible participation of Member States in the international programme. These Committees are constituted and run under the authority of national governments and play a critical role in the implementation of the IHP. There are at present 168 IHP National Committees and focal points among UNESCOs 195Member States.

Management of Coastal Aquifers and Groundwater

Executing Agency UNESCOs International Hydrological Programme (IHP)

 and can consequently degrade the quality of the Mediterranean Sea

Since many of the coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean discharge to the Sea, these aquifers can also contribute signicantly to the degradation of the quality of the Mediterranean if the groundwater contained in them is polluted. The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) is a collective effort of leading environmental institutions and organizations together with countries sharing the Mediterranean Sea to address the main environmental challenges that Mediterranean marine and coastal ecosystems face. The MedPartnership is led by UNEP/MAP and is nancially supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors, including the European Commission and all participating countries. The MedPartnership catalyzes action to create an enabling environment for the necessary policy, legal and institutional reforms in the partner countries, as well as investments.

United Nations Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organization

International Hydrological Programme

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Groundwater is the water that is present below the water table, the horizon below which water will ow spontaneously into a well. Groundwater is now a signicant source of water for human consumption, supplying nearly half of all drinking water in the world (WWAP, 2009) and around 43% of all water effectively consumed in irrigation (Siebert et al., 2010). Groundwater is also important for sustaining streams, lakes, wetlands and ecosystems in many parts of the world. An aquifer is a permeable water bearing geological formation underlain by a less permeable layer and the water contained in the saturated zone of the formation [Article 2(a) of the Draft Articles on The Law of Transboundary Aquifers, UN GA resolution63/124]. All aquifers have two fundamental characteristics: a capacity for groundwater storage and a capacity for groundwater ow.

Case Studies
VULNERABILITY MAPPING

Coastal Aquifers and Groundwater

Vulnerability mapping is a tool that illustrates the location and severity of risk to which a system may be subject. When applied to groundwater and aquifers, it can be used to indicate areas where there is a threat of over-extraction or contamination. Highly vulnerable areas are indicated in red, while areas experiencing lower risk levels appear in green.

Sub-Component 1.1 of the MedPartnership Project

Coastal aquifers and groundwater in the Mediterranean

support ecosystem health
Coastal aquifers and groundwater resources in the Mediterranean coastal zone play a key role in protecting the environment, in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services and the overall health of the Mediterranean Large Marine Ecosystem. The discharges of freshwater from coastal aquifers to the Mediterranean Sea represent 25% of the total freshwater inow into the Sea, about 13billion m3/yr according to the UNEP/Blue Plan study (http://www.planbleu.org/). The coastal aquifer seepage and submarine groundwater discharges are critical to the water balance and seawater quality in the Mediterranean Sea. These groundwater discharges also support wetlands and brackish water habitats with important biodiversity and shery nursery areas in the coastal zones.

Novljanska Zrnovnica karstic spring catchment area (Croatia)

Pula coastal aquifer (Croatia)

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Gar El Melah coastal aquifer (Tunisia)

CROATIA BOSNIA & HERZ.

MONTENEGRO ALBANIA

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TURKEY

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SYRIA LEBANON

are essential to human livelihoods

Human livelihoods in the Mediterranean coastal are closely tied to the availability of groundwater resources, which provide drinking water for human settlements and also supply signicant amounts of water resources for agricultural, industrial and tourism activities in the region. In the South East European countries of the Mediterranean, for example, groundwater is used predominantly for drinking water, while in the more arid Mediterranean countries of North Africa and the Middle East, groundwater resources ensure a reliable supply of water for agricultural activities. Some countries in the region rely heavily on groundwater to satisfy their overall water needs, such as Lebanon, which estimates that 45% of its total water consumption comes from groundwater.

PALESTINE ALGERIA LIBYA EGYPT

ALGERIA

CONJUNCTIVE MANAGEMENT OF SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER RESOURCES

 GROUNDWATER AND COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

Did you know?

Groundwater represents nearly 97% of the liquid freshwater on our planet

(van der Gun and Margat, 2013)

Buna/Bojana Transboundary Integrated Management Plan: Joint ICZM and IWRM Plan, integrating groundwater and aquifers (Albania and Montenegro)

Reghaias Coastal Plan: ICZM Plan integrating groundwater and aquifers (Algeria)

Study of the processes affecting groundwater quality and salinization in coastal zones the case of the Bou Areg coastal aquifer and the Nador Lagoon (Morocco)

The MedPartnership Project (2009-2014) is a full-size GEF (www.thegef.org) regional project implemented by UNEP/MAP and executed by UNESCO-IHP, FAO, UNIDO, GWP-Med, MIO-ECSDE, WWF MedPO, UNEP/MAPs MEDPOL programme and regional activity centres (CP/RAC, SPA/RAC and PAP/RAC). The partner countries are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Montenegro, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. For further information, visit the MedPartnership website at www.themedpartnership.org.