The water level has receded in the Mosul Dam Lake, pictured here in May.
A new Turkish dam upstream on the Tigris River could make matters worse.
REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily Water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can either be a destabilizing factor or a motive that binds communities together, according to a new joint report from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank.
More than 60 percent of the region’s population is concentrated in places affected by high or very high surface water stress, compared to a global average of about 35 percent, it noted.
The report warned that if left unchecked, climate-related water scarcity is expected to cause economic losses estimated at 6 to 14 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2050, the highest in the world.
Speaking at the session, FAO Regional Programme Coordinator for the Near East and North Africa, Pasquale Steduto, explained that economic losses mean rising unemployment, compounded by the impact of water scarcity on traditional livelihoods such as agriculture, could result in food insecurity and force people to migrate.
Steduto, who is also co-lead author of the report, stated that the good news is that actions can be taken to prevent water scarcity and instability from becoming a vicious cycle, by focusing on sustainable, efficient and equitable water resources management and service delivery.
World Bank Senior Water Resources Management Specialist and report co-lead author, Anders Jagerskog asserted that water scarcity always has both a local dimension, as it directly impacts communities, and a regional one, as water resources cross borders.
“Addressing water scarcity is an opportunity to empower local communities to develop their own local consensus on strategies for addressing the challenge.
Regional partnerships to manage shared resources is a step toward greater regional integration.