Water Challenges and Cooperative Response in the Middle East and North Africa |
Based on a meeting at the Stimson Center, Washington, USA, May 2012, the Brookings report «Water Challenges and Cooperative Response in the Middle East and North Africa» first provides a brief overview of available water resources in the Middle East and Northern African region. It then discusses the salient socio-economic and environmental stresses and trends that will drive and condition water supply and demand over the coming decades. Next, the report sketches prevailing water management approaches that are being developed or might be brought to bear. With this foundation in place, the report then seeks to illuminate the water governance policy options and obstacles confronting the region by examining three case studies: the Tigris-Euphrates basin, the Nile basin, and a side-by-side consideration of water stewardship in Yemen and Oman. Finally, the report concludes by presenting some recommendations suggesting strategies for the MENA countries to build their water management capabilities and bolster collaborative alternatives to managing scarce water resources at both the domestic and regional levels. Significant areas for policy innovation, mutual capacity-building, sharing of data and best practices, joint benchmarking and standard setting, and technical cooperation include:
Water Challenges and Cooperative Response in the Middle East and North Africa |