Over-Exploitation of Water and Natural Resources in Al-Hira, Libya

The problem of water scarcity and salinity in North Africa is one of the main important constraints to any development. Libya is considered a Saharan country more than 90% of its area. Average annual rain is about 100 mm while evapotranspiration is more than 2000 mm. The Al-Hira study area belongs to the Al Djfara plain in north-western Libya, which is one of the most important pastoral areas of the region and it was until the 90s considered a good grazing area. The study area covers an area of approximately 269,938 hectares. The study carried out in the Al Hira area belonging to the Djfara plain showed an advanced state of degradation of natural resources: 1) decrease in irrigated areas and shrub vegetation; 2) increase in bare land areas; 3) fair water management (poor irrigation uniformity, bad irrigation scheduling). The irrigated areas were decreased from 18,000 to 12,000 ha between 1996 and 2008; an increase in bare soil was observed (23,000 ha to about 35,000 ha) between 1988 and 2009. The uniformity of localized irrigation under olive trees is often less than 50%, indicating the need to replace all the irrigation networks. In the case of sprinkler irrigation, irrigation equipment appears to meet the standards but the uniformity coefficient obtained at field level is very low (63%). The study on natural resources management in this area is imperative. Also an integrated water resources scheme is necessary for a better use of transferred saline water and aquifer fresh water.