IISD | SD Knowledge Hub | By: Delia Paul | GPE – October 03, 2017:
The EU is supporting pastoralists’ access to water along their seasonal migration routes, through a project funded through UN Environment. Meanwhile, UNECE, GWP and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory are supporting cooperation on the sharing of groundwater resources in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, especially in relation to the North-West Sahara Aquifer System.
Originally published September 28, 2017: When water becomes scarce in Sudan, pastoralists migrate along traditionally recognized routes to access water for their livestock, but increased water stress and competition with agriculture threatens longstanding cooperation arrangements.
The EU is supporting pastoralists’ access to water along their seasonal migration routes, through a project funded through UN Environment.
Meanwhile, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory are supporting cooperation on the sharing of groundwater resources in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, especially in relation to the North-West Sahara Aquifer System – an area of more than one million square kilometers.
Pastoralists in Sudan herd camels and sheep in arid conditions that receive less than 18 days of rain annually. Seasonal migration is a survival strategy. To avoid pastoralists coming into conflict with farmers and local people, the EU-UN Environment project is re-vegetating pastoral grasslands, marking traditional routes and maintaining existing water infrastructure such as pumps and dams.
The project is also organizing communities to meet with migrant pastoralists to discuss cooperation on accessing water resources, supported by SOS Sahel, a national NGO in Sudan. The EU funding comes from its ‘Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace.’
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