@article{fdi:010070927,
  title = {{G}roundwater overexploitation : why is the red flag waved ? {C}ase study on the {K}airouan plain aquifer (central {T}unisia)},
  author = {{M}assuel, {S}ylvain and {R}iaux, {J}eanne},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n many parts of the world, groundwater users regularly face serious resource-depletion threat. {A}t the same time, "groundwater overexploitation" is massively cited when discussing groundwater management problems. {A} kind of standard definition tends to relegate groundwater overexploitation only as a matter of inputs and outputs. {H}owever, a thorough state-of-the-art analysis shows that groundwater overexploitation is not only a matter of hydrogeology but also a qualification of exploitation based on political, social, technical, economic or environmental criteria. {T}hus, an aquifer with no threat to groundwater storage can rightly be considered as overexploited because of many other prejudicial aspects. {S}o, why is groundwater overexploitation so frequently only associated with resource-depletion threat and so rarely related to other prejudicial aspects? {I}n that case, what really lies behind the use of the overexploitation concept? {T}he case of the {K}airouan plain aquifer in central {T}unisia was used to analyze the way that the overexploitation message emerges in a given context, how groundwater-use stakeholders (farmers, management agencies and scientists) each qualify the problem in their own way, and how they see themselves with regard to the concept of overexploitation. {T}he analysis shows that focusing messages on overexploitation conceals the problems encountered by the various stakeholders: difficulties accessing water, problems for the authorities in controlling the territory and individual practices, and complications for scientists when qualifying hydrological situations. {T}he solutions put forward to manage overexploitation are at odds with the problems that arise locally, triggering tensions and leading to misunderstandings between the parties involved.},
  keywords = {{O}ver-abstraction ; {G}roundwater management ; {W}ater-resources conservation ; {S}ocio-economic aspects ; {T}unisia ; {TUNISIE}},
  booktitle = {{T}opical collection groundwater-based agriculture in the {M}editerranean},
  journal = {{H}ydrogeology {J}ournal},
  volume = {25},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {1607--1620},
  ISSN = {1431-2174},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1007/s10040-017-1568-2},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070927},
}