wb calls middle east states to take measures to protect water
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

To contain crisis

WB calls Middle East states to take measures to protect water

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today WB calls Middle East states to take measures to protect water

Stockholm - Arabs Today

The World Bank urged the Middle East and North Africa on Tuesday to take “urgent” action to prevent the negative consequences of inadequate supply of water and sanitation. It said that the region loses about $21 billion over these issues, saying that urgent action will prevent detrimental ripple effects on growth and stability.
“As the current conflict and migration crisis unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa shows, failure to address water challenges can have severe impacts on people’s well-being and political stability,” the bank said in a report issued at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
Poor management of water resources and sanitation in the world’s most water-scarce region costs about 1 percent of its annual gross domestic product, with conflict-hit states losing as much as 2 to 4 percent each year. Deaths due to unsafe water and sanitation in some parts of the region, particularly countries affected by conflict, are higher than the global average, it added.
With the urban population in the region expected to double by 2050 to nearly 400 million, a combination of policy, technology and water management tools should be used to improve the water situation, the report said.
“Water productivity – in other words, how much return you get for every drop of water used – in the Middle East in general is the lowest on average in the world,” said Anders Jägerskog, a specialist in water resources management at the World Bank and one of the report’s authors.
Middle Eastern and North African countries are using far more water than can be replenished, said the report, dubbing the region “a global hotspot of unsustainable water use”. To reverse the trend, technology and innovation are “essential but not enough”, Jägerskog told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Water governance – in particular, water tariffs and subsidies – must also be addressed, he said.
The region has the world’s lowest water tariffs and spends the highest proportion of GDP on public water subsidies. Such policies lead to excessive use of already scarce water supplies and are not sustainable, said Jägerskog. Water scarcity also can spark conflicts, the report warned. Another challenge is that more than half of the wastewater collected in the region is fed back into the environment untreated.
“Along with better water management, there is room for increasing the supply through non-conventional methods such as desalination and recycling,” Guangzhe Chen, senior director of the World Bank’s global water practice, said in a statement.
Improved water management could bring considerable financial returns, the report noted. Jordan and Tunisia already safely reuse waste water in irrigation and to replenish supplies, according to the World Bank.
Governments could gain $10 billion annually by improving the storage and delivery of irrigation water to users, while increasing agricultural production by up to 8 percent, the report said. Egypt, Syria and Iran – which have the largest proportion of irrigated land in the region – are the countries that could benefit most, it added.

 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

wb calls middle east states to take measures to protect water wb calls middle east states to take measures to protect water

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

wb calls middle east states to take measures to protect water wb calls middle east states to take measures to protect water

 



GMT 13:29 2018 Friday ,14 December

Turkey targets military over alleged Gulen links

GMT 09:47 2018 Monday ,10 December

Russian ex-policeman convicted over 56 murders

GMT 09:00 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

May tours Europe in desperate bid to save Brexit deal

GMT 15:46 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Festive Fashion by Dubai-based designer ASMARAÏA

GMT 10:03 2018 Monday ,10 December

23 Palestinians arrested in West Bank

GMT 09:12 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Ford trains 1,600 motorists in Mideast, Africa in 2018

GMT 10:16 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Hariri Reaches London To Partake In Lebanon Uk Forum

GMT 10:09 2018 Monday ,10 December

Jewish extremists attack Palestinian-owned vehicles

GMT 01:14 2017 Wednesday ,18 October

Ban tells world leaders 'a political

GMT 16:08 2017 Monday ,18 December

Knight & Wilson Colour Freedom introduces new shades

GMT 12:22 2017 Thursday ,09 March

Coping with exam stress as a parent

GMT 11:27 2018 Tuesday ,11 December

22 dead across three Afghan provinces

GMT 17:28 2017 Thursday ,16 February

PM starts meetings with new ministers Saturday
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday