At least 50 million people lack water for their “basic needs” and 390 million are on the threshold of “shortage”. For the ESCWA Executive Secretary, “water diplomacy” between countries is a “key issue”. 67% of consumption goes to agricultural needs, an integrated system is needed to meet the demand.
New York () – Almost the entire population living in the Arab world suffers in various ways from the crisis of water supply. Translated into figures, this means that some 50 million people lack drinking water “for their basic needs” and 390 million individuals, that is, 90%, live in countries that “suffer from water scarcity.” These are the conclusions of the report that was published within the framework of the three days of the United Nations Conference on Water 2023. An alarming panorama that was discussed at an event sponsored by the Arab League on March 24 in New York, on the sidelines of the UN summit, and which carried the title: “Joint Arab Region Commitment to Accelerate Water Security Goals“.
Rola Abdullah Dashti, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), noted that the Arab region is not meeting its commitments in the sustainable development plan, which include clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. “Water in the Arab region -he pointed out- is a source of prosperity, but also a potential cause of instability and conflict. It is an issue related to water security, food security, prosperity and a dignified life”. Reiterating the importance of collaboration between regional actors, the head of ESCWA added that “water diplomacy between countries is a key issue.”
According to data from an in-depth 2018 FAO survey, the region identified by the acronym MENA (Middle East and North Africa) is the region with the highest global risk in terms of water, with at least 14 of 17 nations considered “low stress”, with several nations (Yemen, Jordan and Palestine, among others) with levels of “absolute scarcity”, according to the Falkenmark index.
In addition, according to the projections of the World Resources Institute (IRM), in a climate scenario such as the current one, water stress levels are expected to worsen for most of the MENA countries. An analysis of the total percentages of water extraction for 2018 shows that the main user in the region is agriculture, with an average of 66.7%, followed by domestic use with 27.4%; the rest goes to industry.
At the regional level, the priority issues on which the work is focused are: the integrated management of water resources; water for all; cross-border collaboration in relation to water; water and climate change; efficiency in the use of water; and unconventional water resources. The accelerators proposed during the discussion day cover water financing, data to inform decision-making, monitoring and implementation, innovation, capacity development and regional knowledge networks.
ESCWA recently launched the “RICCAR” project, whose objective is to assess the impact of climate change on water resources and social and economic vulnerability on a regional scale in different sectors of the Arab world. One of its tasks is to provide information to facilitate collaboration, coordination, and dialogue among nations, organizations, and stakeholders. “The Arab region,” added Ambassador Shahira Wahbi, head of the Arab League’s Department of Risk Reduction and Sustainability of Natural Resources, “is the one with the world’s greatest water scarcity, with 19 of the 22 countries having supply problems.
Hence the request to improve collaborative projects in the sector and the ability to cope with changes by mobilizing more financial resources. It is necessary, he continued, to implement “an integrated system for the use of unconventional water and take advantage of every last drop available” to achieve the sustainable development goals. The Yemeni Minister of Environment and Water, Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi, agreed that climate change aggravated existing challenges in the area, and also highlighted the decrease in the per capita quota of available water by about three quarters. In the next two years, he concluded, 14 Arab nations will suffer water shortages and 10 will suffer severe water shortages.
