Dr Anders Jägerskog

Senior Water Resources Management Specialist

Global Water Practice, MENA Unit

World Bank

Prepared for seminar 11 March: “Young Mediterranean Water Heroes – Nature-Based

Solution for a Water Secure Mediterranean”, Anafora/Cairo, Egypt,

Beyond ScarcityWater Security in the Middle East and North Africa

2

Water security: an assessment

Access is

improving, though

challenges remain

Water resources

are not managed

sustainably

Water-related

risks are growing

UNSUSTAINABLE USE

Greatest depletion rates - especially of groundwater – in the world

3

Wada and Bierkens (2014)

UNSUSTAINABLE USE

Some are not making the most of the scarce resource

4

Average

productivity in

middle income

countries

Average

productivity in

high income

countries

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Iraq

Arab Rep. of Egypt

Islamic Rep. of Iran

Libya

Morocco

Tunisia

Algeria

West Bank and Gaza

Saudi Arabia

Lebanon

Jordan

Oman

Djibouti

Bahrain

United Arab Emirates

Israel

Kuwait

Qatar

Total water productivity (USD/m3)

TOTAL WATER PRODUCTIVITY

Recycling water is a massive opportunity

82% not recycled

Diversified water supply contributes to resilience and helps reduce depletion

6

7

Water security: an assessment

Access is

improving, though

challenges remain

Water resources

are not managed

sustainably

Water-related

risks are growing

ACCESS TO WATER SERVICES IS IMPROVING

Large disparities remain

8

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6%

Lebanon

Qatar

Israel

Jordan

Islamic Rep. of Iran

United Arab Emirates

Kuwait

Saudi Arabia

Morocco

Arab Rep. of Egypt

Oman

Tunisia

Algeria

Djibouti

West Bank and Gaza

Iraq

Yemen

Libya

Economic losses from inadequate water supply and sanitation (share of GDP)9

ACCESS TO WATER SERVICES IS UNEVEN

Large economic losses from inadequate water supply and sanitation – especially in conflict affected countries

Average

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER SERVICES

Service fees lower than global averages

10

0 1 2 3 4

Damascus

Jeddah

Riyadh

Manama

Alexandria

Cairo

Tehran

Beirut

Algiers

Tunis

Amman

Kuwait City

Distrito Federal (Mexico City)

Nador

Khouribga

Dar es Salaam

Casablanca

Rabat

Doha

Abu Dhabi

Muscat

Ramallah

Jerusalem

Tel Aviv

Dubai

Barcelona

London

Combined Water and wastewater bill per m3 [2016 USD]

COMBINED WATER AND WASTEWATER BILL

11

Water security: an assessment

Access is

improving, though

challenges remain

Water resources

are not managed

sustainably

Water-related

risks are growing

RISKS ARE GROWING

Climate change to be a primary driver of surface water stress increase to 2030 – especially in conflict and migration affected countries

12

13

RISKS ARE GROWING

Failure to address water challenges driver of migration – for instance in Iraq

14

RISKS ARE GROWING

Essential to share transboundary waters cooperatively

15

Take home messages

16

http://www.worldbank.org/en/t

opic/water/publication/beyond-

scarcity-water-security-in-the-

middle-east-and-north-africa

HEREGlobal experience shows that technology, policy and

institutional management need to evolve together to achieve

water security.

Strategies that focus on ‘supply side’ solutions have made

limited progress towards water security

Water governance challenges are the common denominator of

water insecurity in the region

Water security is about much more than just

coping with water scarcity