Shared Groundwater Resource Management and Protection in the Mediterranean — A Joint Approach by United Nations Agencies

The present chapter introduces the reader to the key issues and some recent initiatives on establishing and strengthening cooperation in the Mediterranean region on the management and protection of internationally shared groundwater resources. Background information is given on why the groundwaters, and in particular the internationally shared aquifers, play an important role for satisfying the increasing water demand in the region. The Mediterranean region, covered by three UN Regional Commissions, is characterised by vast differences both in the availability of natural resources and in socio-economic development. The same is true with regard to the availability of regional and national institutional instruments. The chapter then addresses the main existing instruments on the protection and management of internationally shared aquifers: the Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes; the UNECE Guidelines on Monitoring and Assessment of Transboundary Groundwaters; and the Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) Programme, a joint initiative of UNESCO, FAO, UNECE and the International Association of Hydrologists (IAH).