Water Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: An Unfinished Agenda

Abstract

All aspects of the fresh water situation in the Middle East and North Africa are underlain by the scarcity of fresh water in the region compared with the demands for it. However, physical scarcity has been worsened by institutions that may once have been adequate but that are increasingly failing to meet modern needs for water to be extracted in ways that are ecologically sustainable, used in ways that are economically efficient, and distributed in ways that are socially equitable. Despite this discouraging picture, the thesis of this article is that, in response to both internal and external forces, water-related institutions in MENA are slowly changing in ways that seem likely to improve the situation. Of three key goals identified early in the article-greater attention to demand management, wider stakeholder participation, and adoption of pro-poor strategies-modest gains are evident on the first two, but little on the third.

Linking Environmental Water Scarcity and Options for Adaptation in the MENA Region

“…Thelack of maintenance, poor planning and coordination among water sectors has made most of them unable to perform for the purpose for which there were designed [48].…”

Water Shortage in MENA Region: An Interdisciplinary Overview and a Suite of Practical Solutions

“…Cities in most MENA countries have water losses over 30% and although it can be argued that the urban water sector uses only 10% to 15% of the region's water, these losses are considerably higher than the average water losses in western countries and may add up to substantial amounts of water [41]. Within the domestic use, MENA countries, in general, have separated bodies for irrigation water and drinking water with no clear guidelines for coordination [27]. Another malfunction in MENA water institutions is that water demand management is deemed a secondary task, meaning such institutions perform pricing measures, to increase revenues, without considering the water end-use by their clients [27].…”

“…Within the domestic use, MENA countries, in general, have separated bodies for irrigation water and drinking water with no clear guidelines for coordination [27]. Another malfunction in MENA water institutions is that water demand management is deemed a secondary task, meaning such institutions perform pricing measures, to increase revenues, without considering the water end-use by their clients [27]. The poor performance of many water utilities in MENA is, in most cases, due to lack of funding and mismanagement and the tendency to be administered as government departments and not private entities, creating problems such as unclear responsibilities for operations, low tariffs, difficulty retaining qualified personnel, the lacking of and application of necessary legislation and political interference [41,43].…”

“…That same quantity of water would meet the basic (drinking and hygiene) requirements for 1000 people [27]. In Jordan, 75% of the water is used for agriculture whilst this sector contributes only 2% to national GDP [28].…”

“…Consequently, farmers trash their products on streets as a form of grievance [29]. One major problem is that irrigation is favored over household use, and commercial farming (especially for export crops), over (generally smaller) farms producing for local markets [27]. Astonishingly enough and during the past 25 years, the Gulf States (particularly Saudi Arabia) have consumed quantities of non-renewable water for agriculture use enough for 500 years without the need for seawater desalination [30].…”