Actors, Scales and Spaces Dynamics Linked to Groundwater Resources use for Agriculture Production in Haouaria Plain, Tunisia. A Territory Game Approach

• Main Authors: Intissar Ferchichi, Insaf Mekki, Mohamed Elloumi, Lamia Arfa, Sylvie Lardon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Land
• Subjects: groundwater management; irrigated farming systems; institutions; agro-ecosystem; territory game; integrated development
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/3/74

Groundwater resources became a recognized enabler of important rural and socio-economic development in Mediterranean countries. However, the development of this groundwater economy is currently associated with an increased pressure on the available resource and negative implications on the socio-ecological system. Managing complex socio-ecological systems, such as those that occur in water resource management, is a multi-actor, multi-scale and dynamic decision-making process. This study aims to build a collective learning and collaborative construction tool through the territory game method. It was implemented in the Haouaria Plain, in Northern Tunisia, where farmers are currently dependent upon groundwater use for their livelihood and food security. After the diagnosis of the territorial issues, the drivers of change and a common spatial representation of the future trend of the territory, we dive into the dimensions that hinder or facilitate the implementation of scenarios and the pathways of actions. Thereafter, we analyzed these dimensions together again and reflect on the interactions among actors at different levels to transform the local territory. From the perspective of evolution scenarios for the Haouaria plain, the participants indicated the conditions that hinder or facilitate their implementation and they proposed twenty-three possible actions to be carried out in order to achieve the desired trends. They indicated how these propositions can be achieved, by whom, and where. The local stakeholders coordinate actors, activities and spaces on their territory. Spaces such as El Garâa basin, littoral forest or food processing companies are at stake to develop an integrated response to territorial issues.