Abstract
Libya is one of the driest countries in the world, with an annual rainfall ranging from just 10 to 500mm. for that reason, Water scarcity will be the main problem for future generations and will undermine the economic, social, and environmental foundations. Water scarcity is a great threat to the sustainability of the water supply and potentially to development. The increase in the demand for fresh water in the mostly desert country of Libya is the main concern to sustain the local economy, especially the agriculture sector, that exceeds its traditional supplies. After the discovery of fresh groundwater reserves, a plan was conducted to pump and transport water from south aquifers in the desert to Libya’s Mediterranean coast where most of people live and where the water can be used. The construction of the Great man-made river began in the mid 1980s in order to carry around 6 million cubic meters per day to the coastal area and the project has reached its final phases. Based on an economic analysis for Libya’s water supply and demand, this paper, however, examines the problems of water supply and the prospects of water demand management. It focuses especially on the gap between supply and demand and the most recent adopted by Libyan authorities in the field of promoting water resources to meet the increasing demand for all purposes. Keyword: Water Resources; Supply-side and Demand-side, Libya.