Protecting Groundwater
Publisher: EcoPeace Middle East
Author(s): EcoPeace Middle East
Date: 2014
Topics: Assessment, Cooperation, Livelihoods, Monitoring and Evaluation, Renewable Resources
Countries: Israel, Jordan, Palestine
Groundwater is the world’s most important source of freshwater, constituting 97% of the Earth’s freshwater reserves. However, in the Mediterranean Region, groundwater quality along the Mediterranean Basin severely suffers from human-induced pollution, endangering aquifers and the many communities dependent upon the trans-boundary water source. The pollution stems from a number of sources, including industrial agriculture discharges, solid waste, insufficient sewage facilities, and untreated wastewater. The fundamental problem is the lack of awareness and capacity to combat groundwater pollution. In order to ensure this resource for current inhabitants as well as future generations, it is imperative to empower the municipal governments to take the necessary, proactive measures to protect and improve their groundwater conditions. EcoPeace’s “Protecting Groundwater Project” aimed to promote sustainable management of water resources and to alleviate pollution of groundwater in the Mediterranean Basin. The project concentrated on four regions: Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Malaga, Spain. A total of 30 municipalities from these four regions were selected to participate in the pilot project. While each of the four regions has its own specific environmental challenges related to groundwater pollution and sustainable management, there are also a number of shared challenges as well.