Report compiled by: Ethan Hetherington, Josh Hoare-Matthews, Alex Harper and Josh Lorriman students at Weston College
At the end of last term, we attended the 3rd in a series of Geographical Association lectures at the University of Bristol in the Peel Lecture Theatre, giving us all an insight into what studying geography at university entails. This lecture in particular was presented by Dr Jennifer Hill, of the University of the West of England, and was focused directly of the Northern African country of Tunisia and the issues it faces with water security. The lecture was very informative and provided us with a case-study to include in our A level Geography course. Dam irrigation (Zeroud Basin)Dr Hill explained how Tunisia is divided into 3 key climate regions, Mediterranean, semi-arid and arid. We learnt that the first region is located in the northern area of the country and have opted for new civil work projects to maintain water security for the people. She described in detail the Zeround basin dam, a £30 million project which created a huge amount of stored water, therefore increasing water security for the surrounding cities. However, we also explored the negative impacts that this has created, such as the lack of restriction on water use, leading to excessive usage and increasing the risk of water scarcity. Rainwater harvesting (r.w.h.) (Matamata Plateau, Tunisia)In contrast, the arid Matamata plateau in the south favours the more traditional rain water harvesting techniques. This method is the most efficient in this climate due to the sparse vegetation and smaller population needing a smaller quantity of water. Finally, she discussed how a mixture of traditional methods and modern technology, as well as working with physical and social systems, is required to establish the foundations for sustainable water use in Tunisia and possible other locations of water scarcity.
This series of lectures has further encouraged us all to pursue geography-related degrees and we know it will benefit us when we are at University. We would like to thank Dr Jennifer Hill, University of Bristol and the Geographical Association for the opportunity to attend these lectures, which we have thoroughly enjoyed.
