GeoDigital Mapping (GDM) was selected by a Cypriot Bicommunal Steering Committee to provide professional GIS expertise to Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot water professionals with the goal to equalize their capabilities to perform resource mapping and to encourage mutual cooperation to manage the island’s common water resources.

As in many other places in the world, water resources on the Island of Cyprus are strained due to factors such as high water demand for agriculture, limited surface and groundwater storage, and periodic droughts. The political division on the island causes further stress in water resources allocation, primarily because only limited opportunities exist for Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot water professionals to share data and jointly manage the island’s common water resources.

The US Embassy in Cyprus, in an effort to build trust and encourage Cypriot water professionals to work together for mutual benefit, contracted with the USGS in 2001-2003 to provide the resources for a multi-year Water Resources Databases Development Project. The project created the Environmental Information System (ENVIS), an MS Access based hydrologic database that supports many data processing needs of the water professionals, served as a catalyst for the communities to begin sharing water resource data, and established the groundwork necessary for the two communities to jointly address water resource management issues in Cyprus.

GDM was contracted to continue the Water Resources Databases Project with an ENVIS and GIS-based training and infrastructure-building program that will provide the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot water communities with the skills and tools they need to apply ENVIS and GIS to water resources documentation and management. The Cypriot Bicommunal Steering Committee shares a common interest in water resource management utilizing GIS, and GDM’s technical assistance, training, mentoring, and infrastructure implementation program will provide a solid framework for creating a cooperative water management program vital to their citizens’ needs.