The Management of non-renewable Groundwater ...

The Management of non-renewable Groundwater

BGR -Pol­i­cy Ad­vice Ground­wa­ter - Ground­wa­ter in IWRM - Non-re­new­able Ground­wa­ter :

Satellite image from the desert of Saudi Arabia. 

The green circles are areas that are irrigated

 by using groundwater. Due to missing precipitation

 no groundwater is recharged and the increased

 irrigation causes dropping groundwater tables

Source: USGS

Little or non-renewable groundwater has become an important resource for water supply in several countries, especially in North Africa and the Middle East. As theses resources receive only a minimal recharge through precipitation and infiltration, this situation leads to ever decreasing (ground)water levels.

  The project developed a concept paper which analyses the conditions under which the sustainable utilisation of non-renewable groundwater can be achieved.

Strategien für ein nachhaltiges Management nicht-erneuerbaren Grundwassers (PDF, 782 KB)

Strategies for the Sustainable Management of Non-renewable Groundwater Resources (PDF, 761 KB)

Strategies for the Sustainable Management of Non-renewable Groundwater Resources (In Arabic) (PDF, 1 MB)

Further publications on this issue:

Briefing Paper of the World Bank Groundwater-Management and Advisory Team (GW-MATE) 

“Utilization of Non-Renewable Groundwater. A socially-sustainable approach to resource management” .pdf

UNESCO publication with several case studies “Non-Renewable Groundwater Resources. A guidebook on socially-sustainable management for water policy makers” .pdf