Drought Threatens (Agriculture) Most Important Economic Driver In Tunisia

9/30/2024 6:03:23 AM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TUNIS, Sept 30 (KUNA) -- Experts have been warning for years that climate change and the seventh consecutive year of lack of rainfall in Tunisia will have disastrous consequences for agriculture, the most important driver of the economy.
According to the latest report by the World Resources Institute, Tunisia is among 25 countries in the world threatened by water scarcity due to the high stress on its available water resources.
The report warned that in the absence of effective water management by the government, population growth, economic activities and climate change will exacerbate the water scarcity crisis.
Due to the lack of rain, the per capita share of water in Tunisia has declined and has become one of the weakest in the world according to international standards, at 420 cubic meters, compared to an average of 500 cubic meters.
According to data from the National Observatory of Agriculture, water reserves have declined, with the Sidi Salem Dam, the largest dam in Tunisia and the main supplier to the northern governorates, not exceeding 30 percent of its capacity, an indication of the severity of the water situation.
Drought has become a reality that casts its shadow over all Tunisian territory for the seventh year in a row, which prompted the Tunisian Water Observatory to call for declaring a state of water emergency after dam reserves declined to 23.2 percent of storage capacity, the lowest level in years.
Director of the Tunisian Water Observatory, Alaa Al-Marzouqi, said in an interview with KUNA that this call is justified. The danger of thirst threatens Tunisia and the water in the dams is only enough for a few weeks.
Water expert Hussein Al-Rahili said that the announced dam filling rate does not exceed 22.6 percent, but the actual percentage of water that can be disposed of is around 10 percent, which puts Tunisia in a water crisis.
He pointed out that the solutions adopted by the state so far are limited to desalination of seawater, but they are not considered the optimal solution for Tunisia at the present time.
The decline in water reserves threatens food security due to the reduction of areas for most agricultural products. Severe drought has led to a 60 percent decline in grain production and a 30 percent decline in livestock herds over the past two years, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture. (end)
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