Short description

The University of Carthage (UCAR) is a public Educational and Research university; it includes around 35 institutions covering a wide array of disciplines in sciences and humanity. The Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT) is the university’s entity participating in the AGREEMAR consortium. Since its foundation in 1898, INAT has been providing Tunisia with the necessary capacities and skills for the development of agricultural, water resources, animal and fishery sectors. INAT excels particularly in agronomic, climate and hydrologic modeling. INAT has implemented strong cooperation and collaboration at national and international level. For over a century, it has conducted research projects and actions on innovative adaptation in the water and agricultural sectors across the Mediterranean, forging strong science-policy and science-industry collaborations with key actors in the area.

AGREEMAR team

Anis Chekirbane

Principal Investigator

Dr Anis Chekirbane is presently working as an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Agronomy, University of Carthage, Tunisia. Dr. Chekirbane received his PhD in the field of Sustainable Environmental Studies from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He worked as researcher in the Water Research and Technologies center in Tunisia from 2004 until 2020. He served as Principal Investigator (PI), International Consultant and member of several research projects. In addition, he is an author/co-author for more than 17 scientific journal articles. His research interest focuses on water resources issues, including the characterization of groundwater flow systems, managed aquifer recharge and interaction between surface water and groundwater using GIS, geophysical methods, isotopic tracers and modeling approaches.

Jamila Tarhouni

Project Member

Prof Jamila Tarhouni is a full professor in the Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry department since 1985 and specialized in Hydrology and hydrogeology modelling and water management. Her research interests are related to water resources monitoring, survey, modelling and management in the context of semi-arid and arid lands. During her career, she has actively participated in several European projects (Med Campus, Avicenne, FP7, Tempus and Erasmus). Moreover, she has conducted bilateral research projects with the IRD, BGR, GIZ, University of Tsukuba and University of Tokyo in Japan. She has extensive experience in the field of international cooperation.

Khaoula Khemiri

Project Member

Dr Khaoula Khemiri is currently working as a Postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Agronomy, University of Carthage, Tunisia. Dr. Khemiri holds a PhD in Hydraulic Engineering from the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT). She also holds a master degree in Hydraulic and Environmental Modeling and a degree of Hydro-Meteorological engineering from ENIT. Dr. Khemiri’s research revolves around water resource management, climate change, and human activities utilizing GIS, geophysical methods, and modeling techniques..

Adel Zghibi

Project Member

Dr Adel Zghibi is an assistant-Professor (PhD) of Hydrogeology and water engineering at the Faculty of Sciences of Tunisia. He graduated from the INAT. His research is mainly focused on modelling flow and mass transport processes in heterogeneous porous and fractured media.

Issam Nouiri

Project Member

Dr Issam Nouiri is a water management expert and associate professor at INAT. With 25+ years of relevant experience, Dr. Nouiri has coordinated and collaborated with research projects funded by Tunisian departments and international organizations (EC, BGR, GIZ, ACSAD, ALECSO) dealing with irrigation, water resources management, climate change, decision support systems development and implementation, and technology and knowledge transfer in the water sector. Dr. Nouiri has 40+ publications with more than 219 citations (2021).

Jamel Ben Nasr

Project Member

Dr. Jamel Ben Nasr is an Assistant Professor and researcher at INAT. Dr. Ben Nasr research interests include water management and governance, natural resource governance, climate change impact, social and environmental impacts, institutions and agriculture and sustainable development. Author of 20+ book chapters and papers.

Relevant publications (selection)

  • Chkirbene, A., Stefan, C., Schlick, R., Aloui, D., Mlayah, A. 2021. Enhancing the implementation of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) technology through geospatial analysis and web-based decision support tools to cope with water scarcity in semi-arid regions of NE Tunisia. Presented at the 48th IAH Congress, 6-10 September 2021. Brussel, Belgium.
  • Zghibi, A., Mirchi, A., Msaddek, M. H., Merzougui, A., Zouhri, L., Taupin, J. D, Chekirbane, A., Chenini, I. & Tarhouni, J. 2020. Using Analytical Hierarchy Process and Multi- Influencing Factors to Map Groundwater Recharge Zones in a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Coastal Aquifer. Water, 12(9), 2525.
  • Chekirbane, A., Tsujimura, M., Lachaal, F., Khadhar, S., Mlayah, A., Kawachi, A., Isoda, H., Tarhouni, J. and Benalaya, A. 2016. Quantification of Groundwater – Saline Surface Water Interaction in a Small Coastal Plain in North-East Tunisia Using Multivariate Statistical Analysis and Geophysical Method. Water Environment Research. 1; 88 (12): 2292-2308.
  • Nouiri, I., Yitayew, M., Maßmann, J., Tarhouni, J., 2015. Multi-objective Optimization Tool for Integrated Groundwater Management. Water Resources Management, DOI 10.1007/s11269- 015-1122-8.
  • Nasr, J. B., & Bachta, M. S. (2018). Conflicts and water governance challenge in irrigated areas of semi-arid regions. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 11(23), 1-10.