The northern desert water reservoir in Gafsa in southern Tunisia, spread over approximately one million square kilometers, is the main source of drinking water in the south of the country; especially the mid-depth over-exploited water table across the Tunisian-Algerian border line.

The northern desert water reservoir in Gafsa in southern Tunisia, spread over approximately one million square kilometers, is the main source of drinking water in the south of the country; especially the mid-depth over-exploited water table across the Tunisian-Algerian border line.

Once known as the green belt because it was one of the most fertile lands in the area, this area is dried up and generations of families that once lived off the land have abandoned their ancestors’ tradition of agriculture. “[Agriculture] was not an option,” says minimarket owner Tareq Salami from Sidi Boubakr village in Gafsa state.

When wells go dry

“Farmers in Sidi Boubakr had no difficulty utilizing land, but life turned upside down when surface wells dried, which deprived us of irrigation water,” Tareq said.

Ali, a farmer from Sidi Boubakr, shares Tareq’s sadness. “We used to grow saffron before the wells got dry and our cousins cut-off the water of Hissan Well.

Hissan Well is one of the main wells used to supply Sidi Boubakr with irrigation water that collects water from the Um al-Qassab area. Sidi Boubakr and Um al-Qassab are practically one area but tribal distributions created the current divisions.

The Grand Valley, also known as Bayash Valley by the Gafsa Governorate residents, used to be the main source of irrigation for green and fruit trees. The valley water wells up from Tébessa in Algeria.

Locals in Sidi Boubakr believe their wells have dried up because Algeria has constructed dams in the main valleys like Bayash Valley. They also consider that excavating deep wells has negatively impacted the shared water table.

Algerian dams have had a negative impact on water tables in Tunisia and halted water flow in the Grand Valley, says Sibti Gwaydieh, a farmer in Um al-Qassab.

“Stopping Hissan Well’s water flow was inevitable because all surface wells have dried up and the authorities have ignored requests from local farmers and turned a blind eye to excavating deep wells like in Algeria,” he explained.

Riparian water rights

Faisal Tlijani, a lawyer, says he has not found any riparian (water bank) rights agreement between the two countries. There is, however, a joint Algerian-Tunisian-Libyan Commission responsible for designing a relevant strategy.  In 2002, a joint technical committee on water and environment between Algeria and Tunisia was created. Its main task was managing aquifers database. This, however, didn’t solve the problem, which became aggravated year after year.

“We don’t wish to create problems with our Algerian brothers and we are aware that these borders are unreal,” says Ahmed, an unemployed young man from Um al-Qassab. He demands that the Tunisian authorities open this file seriously. “If it turns out that our ground water has been stolen,” he says, “officials should quickly move to limit this water drain. In addition, the state must address this issue whether ground water has been stolen or the water table has dried out, to guarantee our life and that of future generations.”

Muhammad agrees that the state should interfere, saying: “Our only source of livelihood has withered” indicating the olive trees. “While farmers in other areas are preparing to collect olive crops, we are getting ready to cut off our trees and turn them into coal,” he added sadly.

He says that the government has ignored their demands and delayed the implementation of Tarsh Well under the pretence that the Water Association should first settle an amount of US$8,000 with the Tunisian Electricity Company.

The director of an agricultural bank in Gafsa, who preferred anonymity, considered it more likely that Algeria overexploited the mid-depth water table and claims this could be proven by looking at the map.

He believes the Tunisian state didn’t attach enough importance to the issue.  A good example is the negligence of a fertile area that could meet a great percentage of daily needs of vegetables and products for the area.

Mehdi Dali, a geography student says: “The view that the deep desert aquifer will remain for future generations to utilize isn’t very realistic since it is shared between Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.  Even if Tunisia stops using it, it does not mean the other countries will do the same.”