Innovative Aquifers Governance for Resilient Water Management and Sustainable Ecosystems in Stressed Mediterranean Agricultural Areas – AGREEMed

Aquifers are a critical component of the water cycle, the ecosystems, and the socio-economic systems; especially in the southern shore of the Mediterranean, where water resources are limited and unevenly distributed in space and time. Some countries receive a mere 10% of the local total annual average rainfall. In such complex region, where aquifers are influenced by population growth, climate change, and environmental changes, it is increasingly important to enhance, manage and sustain services derived from aquifers and the groundwater. The conceptual framework of AGREEMed is inspired from the assumption that resilient water management, preservation of ecosystems, and sustainable agricultural development in water-stressed Mediterranean basins is possible if area’ specific portfolio of solutions and practices is designed and implemented in a participatory approach. AGREEMed project aims at improving the capacities of water actors in developing aquifer management plans and organizing demonstrations of such development in pilot areas in strategic agricultural Mediterranean basins: Souss-Massa in Morocco, Hammamet in Tunisia, and Jordan Valley in Jordan. This will be achieved by selecting, adapting, and implementing a combination of successful technologies and practices in the Mediterranean region within inclusive and adaptive aquifers’ governance plans. Specifically, AGREEMed seeks to: deliver scientific knowledge about quantity and quality status of groundwater and dependent ecosystems, evaluate non-conventional water technologies, promote innovative water treatment and brine management technologies, leverage Nature-Based Solutions, foster institutional water management practices, promote Big Data-based models added values, and introduce the collective intelligence concept in water resources management. To accomplish these sub-objectives, AGREEMed is relying on an international consortium of partners from different sectors (research centers, universities, association, SMEs) and proven expertise in the project pillars, and on an innovative methodology to approach the different milestones. In each of the pilot areas, “Stakeholders Bords” will be created and will include various actors in the water value chain. This coalition will represent an instrument of dialogue and inclusive governance and will be involved across the project activities. Exploratory investigations and evaluations of groundwater, associated ecosystems, and current non-conventional water technologies will be carried to guide the following activities. Aquifers governance plans specific to each pilot area will be built, combining non-conventional water technologies, disruptive Big-Data based models, NBS, and institutional practices according to findings of the exploratory researches. Socioeconomic and environmental assessments will be performed to secure the optimal footprints of the suggested solutions. Dedicated efforts will be made in upscaling and dissemination, for a larger outreach of the project outcomes within the Mediterranean region. The strategic ambitions of AGREEMed are falling within the scope of water thematic call as it addresses the vital role of aquifers and their management in the Mediterranean. The multidisciplinary and multiapproach of AGREEMed will be supporting the research activities in responding to the expectations of the selected topic regarding addressing the problem of water scarcity through innovation, integrating ecosystems and people, and reducing gaps between plans and implementation. To that end, AGREEMed’s value proposition in contributing to groundwater and dependent ecosystems sustainability is alleviated by a large portfolio of solutions and practices (technological, institutional, and scientific) where specificities of the pilot area, inclusiveness, and ecosystems are key pillars. Diverse innovations (products, business models, approaches, and organizational models) are expected within the framework of AGREEMed.