The Greatest water transfer project - a solution to Libya’s future water supply?
The problem in Africa lies in the spatial unevenness of water resources and food supply due the complex physical, climate and human characteristics. You might have asked yourself, some areas have surplus water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use, why can’t you just transfer water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit? ( Salem, 2007 ) This is what Libya has done by implementing the world’s largest, most expensive water conveyance project in the world, drawing fossil water from ancient aquifers beneath the Sahara and transferring it along with a network of pipes to the northern coastal belt where water demands exist ( Sternberg, 2016 ). The project is estimated to transfer more than 6 million m3 of water/day up north, and 70% of it is to be used for irrigation ( Kuwairi, 2006 ). Diagram of the GMMR project in Libya Source: Danmichaelo, 2011 The importance of GMMR in solving uneven water requirement Libya is one of the driest countries in...