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Current water scarcity situation
- Potential Water Scarcity (Hammond A., 1998)
The current water crisis in the Mediterranean region is continuously escalating. While representing 5% of the total world population, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region contains only 0.9% of global water resources (World Bank Report, 1996). The number of water-scarce countries in the Middle East and North Africa has increased from 3 in 1955 (Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait) to 11 by 1990 (with the inclusion of Algeria, Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen). Another 7 are anticipated to join the list by 2025 (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Libya, Morocco, Oman and Syria) (Darwish, 1994). In particular in the Middles East region, most of the water that runs is located in three major waterways: the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile and Jordan River systems. Mutual dependence on these resources has made water a catalyst for conflict, occurring 21 armed disputes over water in recent history (i.e. 1967 War, the Iran-Iraq War, Israel-Palestinian Authority) (Darwish, 1994). It has been recognised the important role that water plays in order to foment interstate relations and therefore numerous attempts of resolution have taken place, including diplomatic efforts and bilateral and multilateral treaty efforts, ranging from the 1959 Agreement for the Full Treaty Utilisation of Nile Waters to the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian (Berman I. and Wihbey, 1999).
Despite these agreements, nations have begun to come into conflict over water promoted by a variety of factors: (1) with population rates among the highest in the world, countries in the Middle East and North Africa are consuming water at a much higher rate than can be replenished naturally; (2) in an area already critically short of water, this depletion has been compounded by domestic pollution, which has contributed to a deterioration of usable resources and a general decline in the quality of available water; and (3) expanding initiatives in agriculture and industry have further eroded regional water availability (Berman I. and Wihbey, 1999).
Today, average per capita water availability in the region is about 1,200 cubic meters per year (world average is close to 7,000). The annual water availability in the region ranges from a high of about 1,800 cubic meters per person in Iran to less than 200 cubic meters per person in Jordan, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen. By 2025, the regional average water availability is projected to be just over 500 cubic meters/person/year (WBO, 2004).
In spite water shortage, as access to a safe water supply and adequate sanitation are both essential to a healthy life, most North African and Eastern Mediterranean countries had made a major effort to improve drinking water supply and sanitation services. At the present, 88,5% of the population have access to an improved water source in urban areas and 74,2% in rural areas (World Resources Institute, 2004). However, there are still major deficits in rural areas in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Syria where the access to drinking water is less than 65 % because their financial situation hinders from establishing pipes lines to small villages and remote areas. Past surveys of the technical options for sustainable water supply in the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) shows that there are well proven technologies available which could foster an efficiency revolution in all sectors of the economy (i.e. agriculture, industry, services sectors). For instance, wastewater reuse and reclamation can constitute an additional water resource for irrigation, as well as desalination of sea water to provide potable water. The application of advanced water treatment methods, as membrane technology, is the key figure to abate the water escalating crisis existing today.