UNESCO Expert Meeting on Groundwater Highlights the Urgent Need for Governance, Actions and Investments in Groundwater Management in the Arab Region!

Groundwater serves as a vital source of fresh water for numerous countries in the Arab region, providing a lifeline for agriculture, industry, and domestic use. The increased demand from various sectors for groundwater, coupled with the expansion of irrigation in the NENA region, has led to excessive groundwater abstraction, resulting in unsustainable management of aquifers and putting ecosystems and farmers' livelihoods at risk.

In an effort to address the pressing challenges surrounding groundwater resources in the Arab region, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convened a high-level expert meeting on groundwater in Cairo, Egypt. The two-day event, held from September 27 to 28, 2023, brought together leading specialists, policymakers, and stakeholders including from FAO, ESCWA, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and AWC, to discuss sustainable management and preservation strategies for groundwater in the Arab region.

During the meeting, participants shared their expertise, experiences, and best practices in groundwater management, focusing on the challenges faced by different Arab countries and the potential solutions to address them.

The discussions centered around four main aspects:

• Discuss the main messages from the UN Summit on Groundwater and map those messages to critical challenges in the Arab Region.
• Develop an outline of an Arab Regional Strategy/Work Plan for enhancing groundwater management as a strategic reserve necessary for climate resilience.
• Develop a series of messages to be communicated to Arab Water Resources ministers concerning groundwater resources and promoting sound management and governance.
• Establish a timeline for the development of a series of policy briefs.

At the conclusion, participants agreed on the urgent need for more collaborative actions in water diplomacy, knowledge sharing, and capacity-building initiatives to address the challenges facing groundwater in the Arab region. They emphasized the importance of regional cooperation and inclusive innovation including the sharing of best practices and joint research.

At the conclusion, participants agreed to submit the meeting's recommendations to member states on behalf of the experts and the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Water Ministerial Council, for official endorsement during the Fifteenth Session of the Council scheduled to be held next November in Riyad.