watch the water
‘Coordinated action’ key to a water-secure Middle East
NGOs are hoping to make water governance and financing more effective while addressing the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, which the Euphrates river (above) is central to in much of the Middle East.
Sweden-based Global Water Partnership seeks sound management of region’s water resources
Currently 60% of MENA population live in places affected by high or very high-water stress
DUBAI: As governments and nongovernmental organizations draw up plans to address the world’s major water challenges, experts say that in addition to sound and integrated resources management, what may hold the key to a positive outcome in each case is more attention and coordinated action.
For the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, whose share of global freshwater resources is a meagre 3 percent for a population of more than 460 million, it would certainly not hurt if “more attention, coordinated action and better management” became something of an inter-governmental mantra.
Among the organizations striving to create and maintain momentum for coordinated action is the Global Water Partnership (GWP), a Stockholm-based “multi-stakeholder action network,” with its ability to mobilize over 3,000 partner organizations and learn from new experiences.
In keeping with its mission of “advancing governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development,” the GWP recently unveiled its strategy for 2020-25, titled “Mobilizing for a water secure world.”
Central to the strategy are the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate-resilient development and transboundary water cooperation, with particular emphasis on engagement with the private sector, youth participation in decision-making and gender-inclusivity.
“Recent forecasts point to water availability becoming more strenuous due to precipitation decrease, temperature rise and population growth,” said Vangelis Constantianos, executive secretary of Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med).
“Due to climate change alone, (water) availability may decrease by two to 15 percent for a +2 degrees Celsius warming (scenario).
“This is among the largest (predicted) decreases in the world. Furthermore, extreme phenomena, like droughts and floods, would increase in the region.”
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/1610306/middle-east