DRAFT MINUTES
UNESCO-IHP Expert Meeting on “Assessment of Risk and Uncertainty related to Coastal
Aquifers Management in the Mediterranean”
20 – 21 February 2012, Park Hotel, Thessaloniki, Greece
UNESCO-IHP Sub-component 1.1 on “Managing Coastal Aquifer and Groundwater” of the GEF
UNEP/MAP “Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem
(MedPartnership)”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As a result of this First Meeting of the national groundwater experts contributing to UNESCOIHP’s activity on the “Assessment of Risk and Uncertainty related to Coastal Aquifers
Management in the Mediterranean” under the GEF UNEP/MAP MedPartnership, a
questionnaire was developed that will be used to collect information and characterize key
coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean countries participating in the project. A comprehensive
regional inventory of the locations of these coastal aquifers with the information collected
through the questionnaires will be available in an on-line geographical information system. The
national groundwater experts will prepare national reports on the assessment of risks and
uncertainties of coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean that will be integrated in a regional
report to be published by UNESCO-IHP in the framework of the MedPartnership project. The
documents will be discussed in the Second Meeting to take place in Antalya, Turkey in late
September or early October 2012.
DECISIONS
1. The Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the national groundwater experts for this activity
were discussed and will be modified to specify a limit on the number of aquifer
questionnaires that must be completed by each national expert depending on the
extent of the country’s coast-line (see ToRs attached in Annex 1).
2. The duration and the remuneration of the contracts for the national groundwater
experts were discussed and agreed. UNESCO-IHP will confirm the duration and final
amount of the contracts based on approval by UNESCO’s administration and the
Steering Committee of the MedPartnership.
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3. The draft Table of Contents of the national reports was agreed with the participants and
the experts. The length of the reports will depend on extension of the country and the
number of aquifers to characterize (see draft Table of Contents attached in Annex 2).
4. The Aquifer Questionnaire proposed was discussed and simplified. The information to
be collected and reported in the questionnaire will depend on the existing availability of
data and information (see Aquifer Questionnaire attached in Annex 3).
POST-MEETING ACTION ITEMS
Action
1 Modify ToRs in light of Decisions 1 and 2
above, prepare contracts with national
groundwater experts
2 Circulate a completed example of the aquifer
questionnaire to facilitate completion of new
ones
3 Propose dates for next meeting, solicit
availabilities of participants through online
scheduling tool (doodle)
Assigned To
Martin-Bordes
Deadline
April 2012
MartinBordes/Ganoulis
April 2012
Martin-Bordes
April 2012
Introduction of the objectives of the meeting:
The objectives of the present meeting were to:
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Provide an overview of UNESCO’s component of the MedPartnership to establish the
context of the work proposed for the national groundwater experts;
Share the experiences of the Mediterranean countries regarding environmental and
management risks in coastal aquifers and discuss common risks and uncertainties in the
region;
Agree upon the content of a questionnaire for collecting information and characterizing
coastal aquifers; and
Discuss the requirements of the national and regional technical reports and obtain the
commitment of the national experts to undertake the national technical reports.
Role of UNESCO in the MedPartership:
UNESCO is responsible for Sub-component 1.1 “Management of Coastal Aquifers and
Groundwater” of the Regional Project of the MedPartnerhip. This sub-component aims to
reverse the trends in over-extraction and degradation of coastal aquifers quality through policy
interactions in order to provide appropriate capacity and technology for groundwater
management.
The work of the national groundwater experts will focus on one of the four activities under
UNESCO’s supervision, namely Activity 1.1.1.1, “Assessment of the risks and uncertainties
relating to Mediterranean coastal aquifers.”
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Contributions of the national groundwater experts to Activity 1.1.1.1
The national groundwater experts will contribute to Activity 1.1.1.1 by providing the following:
1. A national technical report describing the risks and uncertainties of coastal resources in
the country and some key recommendations to improve their management and
protection;
2. An inventory of the location of coastal aquifers in the participating countries; and
3. Completed aquifer questionnaires for a limited number of the most important coastal
aquifers.
Session I: Experts presentations and discussion
Throughout the country presentations, a number of common challenges were identified among
which:
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High concentration of human activities along coastal areas, causing intense pressure on
coastal area ecosystems and water resources;
Over-abstraction of groundwater resources, leading to saltwater intrusion, dramatic
drawdown of aquifer levels, and/or soil salinization;
Illegal dumping of municipal and industrial waste, leading to pollution of aquifers and
consequently the Mediterranean; and
The effects of climate change and climate variability, resulting in increasing
temperatures, diminishing precipitation and sea level rise.
Some common mitigation strategies emerged as well:
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Artificial recharge of aquifers using treated wastewater
Improved regulation of individual wells; and
Use of desalinization facilities to provide alternatives to the extraction of groundwater
for human consumption (in some cases where this is the most optimum solution).
Session II: Discussion of general risks and uncertainties
Risk, in the context of environmental threats, may be defined as:
 Possibility of loss;
 Possible loss; and
 Expected mean loss.
It may also be gauged by responses to the questions:
 When would the system fail?
 How often is failure expected?
 What are the likely consequences?
Risk, in the context of political negotiations, takes on an entirely different meaning, and the
participants agreed that this term would be avoided when formulating recommendations for
decision makers.
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Session III: Preparation of the technical description aquifer questionnaire
The participants provided extensive comments to the proposed aquifer questionnaire, noting
however, that it would be challenging to gather the requested information for any single
aquifer. Responding to this concern, Mr Martin-Bordes indicated that documenting the lack of
information was equally important as this could be used in discussions with decision makers to
demonstrate the need for more research and monitoring (i.e).
In response to concerns of the participants about the disparity of the number of aquifers
between the countries, it was agreed that a limit would be placed on the number of aquifers for
which a completed questionnaire would be required. It was agreed however, that all countries
would provide the locations of all known coastal aquifers, even if they were not the subject of
an aquifer questionnaire.
After debates, the participants approved the content of the aquifer questionnaire, which is
provided in Annex 3.
Session IV: Preparation of the national and regional reports on “Risk and Uncertainties”
Finally, a number of practical considerations for the report were provided:
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The length of the report will be not less than 15 pages and not more than 30 pages,
exclusive of annexes and completed aquifer questionnaires;
The length of annexed information (details on case studies) may not exceed five pages;
and
The font used throughout the report and annexes will be Times New Roman 11, and
must be single-spaced.
Once the GEF focal points have approved the national reports, these documents will be owned
outright by the MedPartnership, UNESCO and the countries.
After debates, each of the national groundwater experts agreed to undertake the inventory of
coastal aquifers, the aquifer questionnaires and the national technical report.
ATTENDANCE
Please see Annex 4 for the list of participants and Annex 5 for the Agenda of the Meeting.
National experts from 11 of the 13 participating countries were in attendance; absent were
national experts from Syria and Libya.
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