A Knowledge Co-Production Process to Address Groundwater Governance Challenges in a Community-Managed Irrigation System in Southern Tunisia
Thursday, 10 July 2025: 10:00
Location: SJES004 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
Oral Presentation
Ferchichi INTISSAR, LISAH, Univ Montpellier, AgroParisTech, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, France; Université de Montpellier, France, France
Insaf MEKKI, National Research Institute Of Rural Engineering, Water And Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Ariana 2080, Tunisia, Tunisia
Nesrine TAOUJOUTI TAOUJOUTI, National Research Institute Of Rural Engineering, Water And Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Ariana 2080, Tunisia, Tunisia
Ichrak EL GUEDRI, National Research Institute Of Rural Engineering, Water And Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Ariana 2080, Tunisia, Tunisia
The development of the Kebili oases in southern Tunisia relies heavily on the intensive use of groundwater for irrigation. These oases are highly diverse, particularly in terms of water governance mechanisms and the actors involved. For instance, farmers’ associations manage collective irrigation systems, which are supplied by public deep wells and distribute water to the ancient oases and their surrounding areas, known as "moutakhma." However, these associations face growing environmental challenges, including both the quantitative and qualitative degradation of groundwater, as well as socio-economic issues affecting the sustainability of the oases, many of which depend on low-profit date varieties. Farmers’ associations also face difficulties in recovering the high costs of pumping groundwater and managing the distribution of irrigation water through the collective network.
This study aims to analyze how co-producing knowledge can support decision-making processes within farmers' associations to help them adapt to the current context of groundwater overexploitation. In the Om Somâa Sud oases, a process was implemented between 2021 and 2024 to assist the farmers' association in establishing new governance mechanisms for managing the distribution of irrigation water among farmers.
By involving farmers and association members - through interviews, trainings, collective workshops and field visits -, we were able to: (i) study individual irrigation practices and assess farmers' water needs; (ii) update and digitize the collective irrigation network and land parcels; (iii) create a database of farmers subscribed to the collective network, along with their daily and monthly water consumption for the years 2022-2023; and (iv) develop several digital and physical tools to collect the data needed for updating the database. This work highlights the importance of reflecting on how researchers and farmers’ collectives can meaningfully collaborate to co-create knowledge that informs decision-making in the context of groundwater overexploitation.
