Sustainable groundwater-based date palm farming: Lessons from a multi-stakeholder dialogue in Kebili region, southern Tunisia

The sustainability of groundwater-based date palm systems in Kebili Region, southern Tunisia, is challenged by the continuous increase of farmed areas under private initiatives called “extensions”, irrigated from illegal boreholes and the development of photovoltaic panels used for pumping the underlying aquifers. Actors have identified the overexploitation of groundwater resources as the main threat, but there has been no discussion on how to respond to this concern. This is resulting from the complexity of interactions between different actors’ strategies, diverse decision-making processes across sectors and spatial levels. Therefore, a common representation of the issues and of actors’ interventions at different scale, is a prerequisite to facilitate the emergence of more collaborative and sustained groundwater use. This study investigates an integrated approach that helps the creation of conditions for dialogue between groundwater actors. The developed approach integrates a spatial analysis tool, surveys and a multi-actor participatory process. The main output of the multi-actor participatory process is the initiation of a dialogue including stakeholders representing the diversity of farming situations, public sectors, and spatial level. The study underlines that combining spatial analysis knowledge and a participatory process catalysed stakeholder dialogue and enabled the identification of measures and the creation of policy-based knowledge towards sustainable groundwater management.