Boutelhig et al. (2026) Geospatial Management of Water Supply in Algerian Territory, Based on the Water Stress Indicator Analysis

Identification

• Journal: Green energy and technology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Azzedine Boutelhig, Mohamed Aissa, Hakim Merarda, Salah Bezari
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-98997-1_29

Research Groups

• Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables (URAER)
• Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Ghardaïa, Algeria

Short Summary

This study evaluates Algeria's water security by analyzing the Water Stress Indicator (WSI) and Water-Use Efficiency (WUE) across various sectors. The findings reveal a critical water stress level exceeding 80% and highlight a significant lack of agricultural statistics necessary for effective geospatial water management.

Objective

• To conduct a geospatial analysis of sustainable water supply in Algeria under the impacts of climate change and increasing water stress.
• To assess the ratio of total fresh-water withdrawn (TFWW) by major sectors relative to the total renewable fresh-water resources (TRWR).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: National level (Algerian territory), focusing on regional water solidarity and sectoral distribution.
• Temporal Scale: Spatiotemporal analysis comparing current national statistics against reference years to determine drought trends.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Water Stress Indicator (WSI) analysis; Water-Use Efficiency (WUE) framework; Crop Water Use Efficiency (CWUE) formula for drought trend deflation.
• Data sources: Official Algerian national statistics; FAO AQUASTAT (2022); UN Water Algeria Report (2022); GIZ/BGR/OSS water sector evaluation studies.

Main Results

• The Water Stress Indicator (WSI) was determined to exceed 80%, signaling severe water scarcity.
• Early drought trends were calculated to be between 79% and 138%, which is significantly higher than the standard sustainability threshold of 1000 m³ per inhabitant per year.
• A significant imbalance was identified in the calculation of water use efficiency for irrigated agriculture, attributed to a lack of reliable statistics regarding the proportion of irrigated land relative to total cropland.

Contributions

• Provides a quantitative geospatial assessment of water stress in Algeria using international indicators (WSI and WUE) to highlight regional vulnerabilities.
• Identifies critical gaps in the national statistical infrastructure, specifically regarding agricultural land use, which hinders precise water management.
• Advocates for the implementation of a national digital statistical platform to ensure actual data collection for sustainable water supply planning under climate change.

Funding

• No specific funding projects or reference codes were disclosed; the authors acknowledge general institutional collaborations.

Citation

@article{Boutelhig2026Geospatial,
  author = {Boutelhig, Azzedine and Aissa, Mohamed and Merarda, Hakim and Bezari, Salah},
  title = {Geospatial Management of Water Supply in Algerian Territory, Based on the Water Stress Indicator Analysis},
  journal = {Green energy and technology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-98997-1_29},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98997-1_29}
}

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