The document discusses several topics related to coastal aquifers and their importance for coastal zone management. It notes that coastal aquifers are threatened by overexploitation, which can lead to saline intrusion, and by nutrient pollution from agriculture and wastewater, contributing to coastal eutrophication. Small islands are particularly vulnerable due to their groundwater dependence. The document calls for better understanding coastal aquifer systems and improved management of groundwater resources and water quality to protect coastal ecosystems.

1. OPENING REMARKS
BY
ANDREA MERLA
Athens, 6-7 May 2014UNESCO IHP

2. Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea LME
for accelerating SAP implementation
Countries of the Barcelona Convention
Lead Agencies: World Bank and UNEP MAP
Co-financing partners include Italy, France, Spain, UNESCO, UNIDO, FAO, and others
World Bank
Partnership Investment Fund - GEF: $70m,
Minimum expected co-financing: $250m
Demonstrations of innovative approaches to reduce
N and LBS and coastal habitats degradation,
focusing on transboundary hot spots
(e.g.: eutrophication of the Adriatic Sea) and
sensitive areas
UNEP MAP – GEF - FFEM
Regional Foundational
Project involving all Barcelona
Convention countries:
Results:
(i) TDA - Agreement on two
main transboundary
concerns: Land based
pollution (nutrients) and
coastal degradation; Over-
fishing and biodiversity loss;
(ii) SAP - All countries agreed
at inter-ministerial level on
two Strategic Programs
identifying specific actions
to address the above priority
concerns and targets to be
achieved.
(iii) Agreement to move on to
the implementation of the
reforms and investments
required by the two SAPs.
FOUNDATIONAL WORK SAP IMPLEMENTATION - STRESS REDUCTION MEASURES
Ended 2005 2010 - 2015
Sub-Projects (soft pipeline)
-- Bosnia (N reduction, habitats)
-- Egypt (N reduction, ICM)
-- Montenegro (Habitats, N reduction)
-- Morocco Nador Lagoon (habitat, N reduction)
-- Croatia (N reduction, habitats)
- Albania (N reduction)
- Turkey (habitats, N reduction)
- Tunisia (N reduction)
- Etc.
UNEP MAP, and Partners (FAO,
UNIDO, UNESCO)
Regional Project –(GEF$14m)
Objectives:
To ensure the overall coordination of
the Strategic Partnership,
To facilitate the policy legal and
institutional reforms called for in the
SAPs, with focus on fisheries and
coastal habitats
To Promote the new approaches, and
linkages with coastal aquifers, ICZM
and IWRM
To monitor the effectiveness of the
stress reduction effort, and the
environmental status in the
Mediterranean Sea LME.
FOR THE FIRST TIME THE ROLE OF COSTAL AQUIFERS IN COASTAL MARINE
ECOSYSTEMS IS BEING RECOGNIZED IN A GEF INTERNATIONAL WATERS PROJECT

3. Many active geologic processes occur in coastal zones including erosion,
sedimentation, alongshore and onshore sand transport, shoreline changes,
wind/tidal flooding, dunes accretion, and freshwater – saltwater interactions.
Coastal zones are open and dynamic systems with numerous internal
processes as well as interactions with the wider environment, natural and
man-made.
Coastal ecosystems
are among the most
productive
ecosystems in the
world. They are also
among the most
complex and
threatened.

4. This is occurring in a majority of the world’s populated coastal
area, including the Mediterranean. Seawater intrusion is not easily
reversed and is endangering development in many highly-
populated coastal regions and Small Island Developing States
(SIDS).
Degradation of
coastal aquifers:
a global scale
problem
Over-exploitation of coastal
aquifers often results in saline
water intrusion

5. It is a ubiquitous coastal
process that is driven by
climatologic, hydrogeological,
and oceanographic processes.
Terrestrial hydraulic gradients
almost always transport both
surface and ground water
toward the coast. In coastal
waters, physical oceanographic
processes such as wave set-up,
tidal pumping, and density-
driven circulation impact these
hydraulic gradients and thus
affect rates of submarine
groundwater discharge.
Submarine groundwater discharge
Although only fresh groundwater discharge has traditionally
been accounted for in numerical simulations of coastal water
budgets, the discharge of recirculated saline groundwater may
be equally or even more important in terms of material
transport (for example, nutrients, metals, organics) across
land/sea margins.

6. Management of wastewater treatment practices in coastal
regions critically depends on accurate estimates of the flux
and quality of ground water in the coastal zone.
There is a need for an improved understanding of the
geological framework of coastal aquifers, the pathways by
which ground water travels to the coastal zone, the specific
locations and dimensions of submarine discharge zones, and
the geochemical transformations that take place prior to
discharge.
COASTAL AQUIFERS AND THE COASTAL - MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Increasing population density and changing agricultural practices
in coastal areas have led to releases of nutrients (and other
contaminants) into the coastal environment from fertilizer use,
industrial practices, and wastewater discharge.
This has led to
eutrophication
in many coastal
waters, which is
a widespread
concern. Yet,
the role that
groundwater-
derived
nutrients has
played in coastal
eutrophication is
not well
understood in
many areas

7. The total amount of groundwater entering the coastal
environment with its load of nutrients and other contaminants is
not known, but certainly very large: it is estimated that karstic
groundwater is the largest source of freshwater entering the
Adriatic Sea.

8. The delta of the Neretva River,
where excess nutrients from
agriculture and groundwater
abstractions for irrigation are
threatening water quality and the
health of the delta’s unique AND
and still largely pristine ecosystems.

9. Salt marshes are an important wetland system in the
Mediterranean, interfacing the land and coastal water. Dominated
by salt-tolerant plants, these wetlands provide essential eco-
environmental services for maintaining coastal biodiversity. They
also act as sediment traps and help stabilize the coastline. Salt
marshes are a complex hydrological system characterized by
strong, dynamic interactions between surface water and
groundwater, which underpin the wetland’s eco-functionality.

10. In Small Island States - the sentinels of the global
environment - is where costal aquifers play a most
vital role
•Their environmental health reflects the health of our planet.
•They are heavily impacted by global degradation agents which are outside their
control: climate change, contamination by persistent toxics, navigational hazards,
decline of fisheries among them.
•Local factors also play an important role, as growing population needs and
tourism have placed unsustainable pressures on their limited resources.

11. The nature of coastal aquifers depend on the geological origins of Oceanic Islands
Volcanism related to Hot Spots
Volcanism related to subduction (Volcanic Arcs)
Volcanism related to ocean floor spreading
Atolls (sinking volcanoes)
Limestone platforms
Orogenic (mostly sedimentary)
Suvarrow -
Cook isl Tristan
da Cunha
Marianas
Crozet isl
Trinidad
Barbados

12. Low lying islands and atolls: the most groundwater
dependent and the most vulnerable
Exuma, Bahamas
Andros,
Bahamas

13. NevisVolcanic Islands: drill away
from the coast!

14. Sea water intrusion
Submarine discharges of
contaminated groundwater
Degradation of groundwater dependent
coastal and shallow marine habitats
Pollution of aquifers from inadequate land
use and surface activities
Sea level rise
Groundwater related hazards Mitigation measures
Land-use planning integrating
consideration of aquifer vulnerability
Reinjection, sustainable abstractions
Land-use planning integrating
consideration of aquifer vulnerability
Management of groundwater
quality and flows
Infrastructural interventions
Coastal areas

15. MAPPING COASTAL AQUIFER VULNERABILITY
AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN COASTAL MANAGMENT

16. cook
Mitigating
salt water
intrusion Waste brine storage
Storage
and
recovery
Managing aquifers, managing the subsurface

17. Green infrastructure –It is
the interconnected
network of open spaces
and natural areas, such as
greenways, wetlands,
parks, forest preserves,
that manages storm
water, protects
groundwater, reduces
flooding risk and improves
water quality naturally.
These natural infrastructure
projects also can engage
community cohesiveness by
encouraging all community
residents to get involved in the
planning, planting and
maintenance of the sites.
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN COASTAL AREAS
Natural….
or engineered
Egypt: Lake Manzala
engineered wetland

18. THANK YOU
VIESTE, ITALY