Fifty Years of Water Policies, 1960–2010

Abstract

Tunisia has implemented a network of hydraulic facilities allowing to ensure safety about drinking water supply of the whole urban population and a large part, although unequally, of rural regions. Irrigation has been developed on 420,000 ha, or 8% of arable land which contribute nearly a third of the agricultural production value. The water facilities are involved, in addition, to mitigate the flood-related damage and droughts. Urban sanitation has also developed favorably in large cities, but yet very unevenly in rural areas. All these achievements have contributed to improve food and health conditions. However, this development admits an objective limit which is the threshold of exploitable resource. The policy of increasing supply of conventional resources begins to reach its limits and corollaries of accelerated water resources development were clearly identified since the early 1990s: overexploitation of many shallow and deep aquifers, water salinization in some of them, soil salinization in some irrigated areas. In this context, integrated management of the resource including demand management, is introduced to meet the growing needs expressed by various sectors. Important changes are taking place and reforms are being implemented to protect water resources, control production and use of non conventional water resources, better manage hydrological risks, anticipate conflicting sectoral interests by mobilizing all stakeholders, modernize the regulatory framework and develop appropriate planning.