Faced with a worrying water shortage due to drought, Tunisian officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries have issued numerous statements blaming the evaporation of dam water as a result of global warming. To address the growing demand for water as the resource becomes scarce, the authorities are promising a series of measures.
For the Tunisian authorities, the culprit is obvious: water evaporation, which would cause the country to lose 650,000 cubic meters of water per day. But for Gil Mahe, hydro-climatologist and research director at the IRD, the problem lies elsewhere. ” Obviously, when you have dams that are only 30% full, evaporation becomes a problem. As a percentage, it will become more significant compared to what remains. But in itself, the problem is the lack of rain. It is not evaporation. “
To combat drought, Tunisia therefore wants to turn to cloud seeding, a technique that consists of artificially making it rain on defined areas. But for Gil Mahe, ” it’s a false solution. We don’t know how to do it and then, we don’t control it. “
Dams could worsen coastal erosion
Another solution put forward by the Tunisian authorities is the construction of six new dams in the country. ” We can always build dams. Then, there is another problem when we build dams, it also retains sand ,” notes Gil Mahe. And the sand that no longer reaches the sea accelerates coastal erosion. So, that is another challenge.
And a major challenge for Tunisia, which has been facing significant coastal erosion with irreparable consequences for several years. ” What is happening in Tunisia is an acceleration of what is going to happen in the world,” notes the hydro-climatologist. ” It is sad and unfortunate, but the north of Tunisia is going to be submerged in not so long. “
For Tunisia, as for many countries in Africa and elsewhere, the headache of access to water, with its environmental consequences, is only just beginning.
