Minister Merad Affirms State Water, Health Security Priorities
State Minister Brahim Merad affirmed Algeria's fundamental commitment to safeguarding water resources, ensuring health security, and preserving the environment for its citizens. This comes as authorities address transboundary pollution impacting vital water supplies.
State Minister, Minister of Interior and Local Communities, Brahim Merad, affirmed Algeria's unwavering commitment to the protection of water resources, ensuring both water and health security for its citizens, and safeguarding the ecological balance and biodiversity. During a visit to Tlemcen province on Tuesday, undertaken on behalf of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and accompanied by a ministerial delegation including the Ministers of Water Resources, Environment and Quality of Life, Health, and Communication, Minister Merad underscored these as fundamental priorities of the state, stressing that no leniency would be shown towards practices that harm the environment or endanger public health.
The reaffirmation follows alerts received by public authorities concerning a decline in water quality and fish mortality, prompting immediate deployment of multidisciplinary teams to affected sites for inspection and sample collection. Analyses confirmed a deeply concerning situation, revealing elevated biological and chemical indicators, alongside the presence of pharmaceutical substances and heavy metals in the water. Data indicates this pollution is specifically linked to the discharge of untreated wastewater and other residues, particularly in border regions, allowing contaminants to cross into Algerian water sources.
The severity of this environmental challenge extends beyond aquatic life, posing a direct threat to public health through bacterial and chemical pollutants, pharmaceutical residues, and heavy metals via direct exposure or the food chain. In response, various sectors have been mobilized to enhance surveillance and implement necessary measures to counter these discharges and mitigate their effects. Authorities will continue to coordinate efforts to monitor wastewater, industrial, and agricultural waste discharges in border areas, upholding international principles for the equitable and reasonable use of shared waters and preventing transboundary pollution. Legal actions will be pursued against any party proven responsible for contaminating water resources, with parliamentarians advocating for the internationalization of the Oued Mouilah pollution issue, identified as originating from waste and pollutants from Morocco in the Maghnia region, as a transboundary aggression on water resources before relevant international bodies.
