GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT IN THE TRANSBOUNDARY SYR DARYA BASIN

Project Preparation Phase – Inception Meeting

3-4 February 2014 UNESCO HQ, Paris - 1, Rue Miollis

Salle XIV (Floor -1)

Dr A. AureliUNESCO IHP Chief Groundwater Section

Project Executing Agency

UNESCO International Hydrological Programme

VIII phase- 2014

Water Security :Addressing Local, Regional and Global Challenges

THE UNESCO INTERNATIONAL HYDROLOGICAL PROGRAMME (IHP)

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PROGRAMME

ON WATER RESOURCES

UNESCO‘s water familiy

• UNESCO-IHP , UNESCO-IHE , UN WWAP• UNESCO regional offices, IHP national committees• Category 2 centres: IGRAC, • UNESCO chairs, research institutes, universities

UNESCO General Conference has declared:

WATER a PRIORITY

UNESCO Member States - IHP COUNCIL definition of Water Security

“The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”

Water Related Disasters and Hydrological

Changes

Groundwater in a Changing Environment

Addressing Water Scarcity

and Quality

Water and Human

Settlements of the Future

EcohydrologyEngineering

Harmony for a Sustainable

World

Education, Key to Water Security

Axis 1 Mobilizing International cooperation to Improve

knowledge and innovation to address water security challenges

Axis 3 Developing

institutional and human capacities for water security and sustainability

Axis 2Strengthening the Science-Policy interface to reach water security at local, national, regional, and

global levels

Water Security : Addressing Local, Regional and Global Challenges

Many countries still lack – coherent policies and strategies for the management of aquifers and

groundwater resources – adequate governance, legal settings and institutional arrangements

An attempt at cartographic anamorphosis, showing the groundwater extractions in each country

Jean Margat, UNESCO-BRGM 2008

World Dependency on Groundwater

2.1 - Enhancing sustainable groundwater resources management

2.2 - Addressing strategies for management of aquifers recharge

2.3 - Adapting to the impacts of climate change on aquifer systems- Support Adaptation Measures to Cope with Climate Change

2.4 – Promoting groundwater quality protection

2.5 - Promoting governance and management of groundwater resources and transboundary aquiferslink with : 6.5 - Education for transboundary water cooperation

IHP-VIII 2014-2021

2

Groundwater in a changing environment

Groundwater issues addressed by UNESCO-IHP

Surface-Groundwater Conjunctive use

Groundwater submarine discharge

Groundwater and land subsidence

Coastal aquifers management (saline intrusion)

Management of aquifer recharge (artificial recharge)

Groundwater dependent ecosystems

Groundwater in arid zones

Groundwater protection and vulnerability

Groundwater in urban areas

Endhoreic basins

Application of Isotopes techniques

Non-renewable groundwater resources

Groundwater indicators for environmental sustainability

Groundwater data collection and assessment

Groundwater - hydrological extremes and emergency situations

Groundwater and climate change (adaptation measures)

Application of satellite techniques

Groundwater and carbon sequestration

Transboundary aquifer systems management

Development of groundwater resources indicators

Groundwater Governanace

Capacity building and training activities

Institutional and legal tools for Groundwater management

World-wide Hydrogeological Mapping and Assessment Programme - WHYMAP

• First map of transboudary aquifers • Updates by IGRAC 2009 and 2012• Groundwater resources of the world• Transboundary groundwater and river basins

World Groundwater Maps WHYMAP

Groundwater IWRM and Sustainable development

• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and its multi-faceted, integrative approach to water systems management has been widely considered as the solution to the world’s water issues,

• IWRM still lack implementation in many part of the World

• A failure to recognise the unique and special attributes of groundwater represents one of the lost opportunities of IWRM.

• Groundwater is crucial for SDGs - consideration of the post MDGs 2015 and the SDGs

Groundwater Resources under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (IHP-GRAPHIC) Improve our knowledge on how groundwater resources respond to the impacts of climate change and human activities

Evaluate tools and methods that could contribute to adaptation measures

Conduct case studies, covering a wide range of subjects, scientific methods, and geographical and climatic settings

Derive recommendations from scientific

findings and communicate them to decision makers

• 20 case studies, covering different climatic, hydrogeological, and socio-economic settings

• Scientific results and policy recommendations

• Before the end of the year workshops in Mozambique

Morocco

IHP GRAPHIC- groundwater and Global Changes-

Groundwater resources whose replenishment takes very long in relation to the time-frame of human activity are conveniently termed ‘resources’ – UNESCO-IAH-WB publication

Non-Renewable Groundwater

Groundwater for Emergency Situations (GWES)

Geological or climatic catastrophic events, natural and man-induced provision of clean drinking water is priority Groundwater resources need to be identified, prepared and managed in advance Guidelines for managers and decision makers published

OECD-INBO-UNESCO

Basin Governance

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD - International Network of Basin Organizations INBO

UNESCO IHP - ISARM

The Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP),

at its 20th Session held in June 2012

adopted the Resolution IC-XX-3 on

Transboundary Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM)

International Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM)

Programme Global inventory

Guidelines for the management of groundwater resources shared between two or more States

INVENTORY

Transboundary aquifers identified in the Americas, Asia, Africa, South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus and Middle East

ISARM – Inventory of TBAs and guidelines for sustainable management

Global TBA Information System

TBAs in Africa

2002

2005

2009

2012

There is a great lack of scientific knowledge on TBA in Africa

ISARM AFRICA around 60 TBA have been identified in Africa

UNGA Resolutions: The Law of Transboundary Aquifers

International Law Instruments

• 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention, or New York Convention)

• 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Water Convention, or Helsinki Convention)

• UNILC DRAFT ARTICLES on Transboundary Aquifers

• Few differences But 3 are substantial

• Deep confined groundwater are not covered by 97 Watercourses Convention;

• The existence in the UNECE Water Convention of an Institutional mechanism based on the Meeting of the Parties in the (no such mechanism in 97 Watercourses Convention)

• The UNECE Water Convention considers all type of aquifers- groundwater regardless if they related and not related to international water courses – include model provisions on the UNILC- UNGA draft articles –resolutions

• Role of the new Implementation Committee

International Law Instruments

6th Meeting of the Parties to UNECE Water Convention (Rome, November 2012)

• 19 non UNECE States participated• Decision – close cooperation with UNESCO IHP-ISARM

UNESCO Water Diplomacy and Water Education

UNESCO paved the way to concept of water diplomacy and promoted several mechanisms for the peaceful management of shared water resources (surface and groundwater)

HYDRODIPLOMACY

From Potential Conflict

to Co-operation Potential

Water for Peacea contribution to

World Water Assessment Programme

thank you