Summary:

On 10 December 2024, Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune, announced an agreement on groundwater management signed during a trilateral meeting between Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in April 2024. 

The agreement outlines the establishment of a consultation mechanism in Algiers to manage groundwater resources shared by the three countries in what is called the North-Western Sahara Aquifer System. The aquifer covers over 1,000,000 square kilometers of which 700,000 are in Algeria, 80,000 in Tunisia, and 250,000 in Libya. 

These water resources are currently exploited by 6,500 groundwater extraction wells, most of which are in Algeria.

Outlook: 

The announcement of the groundwater management agreement is a step toward cooperation between Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to fairly distribute the non-renewable water resources in the north Sahara.  

The issue is of particular importance in recent years as water shortages have strained communications and economic sectors, raising the specter of a potential conflict over groundwater resources. 

Tunisia has long demanded such cooperation before the agreement was agreed upon in April 2024. Observers and citizens in the north-western regions in Tunisia are criticizing Algerian practices in building dams over rivers that cross the border shared by the two countries.  

The effectiveness of Algeria’s leadership of the management infrastructure remains to be seen, with unresolved tensions over Algeria’s claims to a majority of the aquifer and intensive use of the water for its various extractive industries which are water-intensive.  

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