The availability of water resources in Mediterranean countries is characterized by uneven spatio-temporal distribution and is heavily affected by agricultural intensification, necessity to sustain the rapid population growth, and extensive tourism in coastal areas.
Sustainable aquifer-based solutions are needed to store water between seasons in order to fulfil optimal water provisions for food security, domestic supply and preservation of natural groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
AGREEMAR proposes an integrated and coordinated methodology to assess and map the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Mediterranean basin and safeguard its success through the implementation of an adaptive governance framework. This will be achieved through:
Development of a methodology for the selection of feasible locations for MAR application based on the integration of demand for groundwater-dependent services, conventional and non-conventional water sources, and intrinsic hydrogeological conditions.
Validation of the feasibility maps through numerical models at watershed and local scale to assess the improvements in reliability, vulnerability and resilience provided by the inclusion of MAR schemes in water management schemes.
Development of a general participatory governance framework at regional level and implementation of co-created location-specific agreements for MAR benefits sharing endorsed by cross-sectoral stakeholder groups.
Implementation of a participative multi-actor approach for fostering the engagement of stakeholders from different societal sectors and actor groups in all stages of project development.
The AGREEMAR project is funded by the National Funding Agencies from Germany, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain under the PRIMA program, the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area.
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The project methodology will be demonstrated at four sites from Tunisia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. All regions selected are vulnerable to climate change effects and face intense groundwater exploitation for agriculture and tourism with significant declines of groundwater levels and seawater intrusion impacts.
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a nature-inspired solution that aims at intentionally recharging the aquifers with surface water for later use or environmental benefits. One of the main characteristics of MAR is that it provides for water storage in the subsurface in comparison with conventional storage in big surface reservoirs.
As part of the AGREEMAR Project, a stakeholder workshop was co-organised by adelphi and INAT teams and took place on January 29, 2025, at the Golden Tulip El Mechtel Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia. The purpose of this civil assembly was to engage stakeholders in exploring the potential of MAR systems for improving groundwater availability, mitigating climate change impacts, and supporting …
Within the framework of the AGREEMAR project, on Thursday, 30 January 2025, the Technical University of Valencia (UPV) and the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) organised a training course on the AQUATOOL decision support system (DSS). This training aimed to enhance collaborative approaches to sustainable water resources management, considering the technical and socio-economic specificities of the mediterranean region. Training …
Marcel Horovitz from LNEC presented the AGREEMAR project at the 14th Portuguese Groundwater Seminar, organised on 5-6 December 2024 by the Portuguese Water Resources Association in a technical presentations session, chaired by Tiago Martins (LNEC). This session addressed the topics of managed aquifer recharge (MAR), groundwater contamination, and numerical modelling. The event, held at Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon, served as …
From October 29th to 31st, 2024, Syrine Ghannem and Rafael Bergillos from UPV attended the 4th IWA-YWP Spain National Conference held in Bilbao, Spain. The conference was organized by the Young Water Professionals Spain, in collaboration with the Spanish Association of Urban Water Management Companies (AGA-AEAS), the “CABB” Water Classroom of the School of Engineering of Bilbao (UPV/EHU), and the …
Catalin Stefan presenting the concept of MAR agreements at the World Groundwater Congress IAH2024 in Davos, Switzerland, 8-13 September 2024 Our project coordinator, Dr. Catalin Stefan Just returned from the World Groundwater Congress IAH2024 held this year in Davos, Switzerland. With 55 parallel sessions, over 1000 participants from more than 80 countries, 14 technical trips to different places in the Alps, tons of …
The end of July marked the publication of two more deliverables in work package 3: D3.2 General Governance Framework for MAR agreementsDeliverable D3.2 presents a general governance framework to support managed aquifer recharge (MAR) agreements. It provides a fundamental basis, paving the way for the co-creation of committed and responsible agreements that are essential to the effective management of MAR …
Between 3-7 June 2024, the AGREEMAR team attended the 8th European Congress “Water – Across Boundaries” of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR). Before the conference, we used the opportunity and also organised an additional meeting of the AGREEMAR consortium on the LNEC campus in Lisbon, Portugal. Annual meeting of the AGREEMAR consortium in Lisbon, Portugal, 3-4 …
Between 3-7 June 2024, the AGREEMAR team attended the 8th European Congress “Water – Across Boundaries” of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR2024) in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference was organised by the Portuguese National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC). Members of AGREEMAR consortium attending the 8th IAHR European Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, 3-7 June 2024 The conference …
On 22 and 23 May 2024, Technische Universität Dresden together with ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence organised a stakeholder interaction and training workshop at the Water Development Department in Nikosia, Cyprus. The event was attended by representatives of Water Development Department and Geological Survey of Cyprus. AGREEMAR groundwater modelling workshop and training course in Cyprus, 22-23 May 2024 The first day was …
On April 18th, 2024, the AGREEMAR partner LNEC organised a stakeholder interaction workshop with the participation of 20 people representing national, regional, and local institutions. In this workshop, the tools developed to date in the AGREEMAR project have been presented (feasibility maps, regional and local numerical model, and Constellation Analysis, CA) and stakeholders have been invited to participate in collaborative …
