Report session on IGRAC
Luiz Amore: Terminology (aquifers is about water and land) “shared” is a term imported from surface waters and land management. The inappropriate use of terminology can create misunderstanding.
Some countries are federal with transboundary aquifers (long experience and also in institutional frameworks)
How countries are using this information?
Neno: transboundary waters disputes in the states (USA). The international treaty on gw under development will help also the federal countries technically and institutionally. How to provide existence of this portal to the different projects. The portal is used by water boards for synchronized use.
The Niger River Basin Authority is facing the situation where Algeria is not a member of the Authority, but he gw component of the Niger river is in Algeria. Algeria attends all the meetings of the NBA. When Algeria will integrate the Authority, how to harmonise the gw data that Algeria has on their aquifer with the sw information of the NBA?
Neno: There are means to integrate information from sw and gw (IGRAC doesn’t do it now), but the most important issue is to sit together to find the common terminology and harmonise data together.
Island States of the Pacific, TBA is applicable. Low flow in the rivers, interaction sw and gw. No much information about this interaction in IGRAC, this would be very useful for islands coral and volcanic geology rock formations.
Shammy: STAP held a workshop on gw and SIDS and raised all these issues. GEF has set aside a seeds funds, sw, gw, climate change, land degradation.
Andrea: Case of the volcanic island of Canary (similar to the Caribbean), the data would be useful through IGRAC, new technologies, IGME
Jorge Rucks: ecosystem services that aquifers can bring, this is another option of classifying aquifers. Identify the human issues of the aquifers, information important for the political decision, countries agree to protect the gw, but they need information. Information limits the dispute. Kind of services for ecosystems and society.
Neno: collect info on gw indifferent sectors and countries
Mr. Mady: Nubian Aquifer, water use, water quality, withdrawns , regional model. Use of the term shared as agreed by the countries (instead of transboundary) to avoid political conflict.
Neno: is there a chance to disseminate part of the information through the IGRAC information system. IGRAC task is to provide information and give links to it.
Nubian Aquifer System info can be linked to the IGRAC
Sw people and gw people don’t talk to each other. Macedonia, Albania, Greece, what happens with the gw, no data about these aspects. Lake and gw
WMO EU IGOS monitor water resources, centralize info from all islands and integrate, full link to gw.
Neno: workshop on global gw monitoring in October
Luiz Amore: case of aquifer mining is critical, description of sharing in a scarce situation. In other cases where there is recharge we can add items to the definition or add description. Problem of sovereignty issue.
Nubian Sandstone is connected to the Nile River,
Neno: we can not dissociate gw form sw. Technology provides means to connect information from different portals, from various databases, synchronisation of these databases (lakes, rivers, gw). Link to fish migration.
Luiz: Guarani needs to disseminate a lot of information to dismantle the hydro-miths. They need to inform and support.