WATER

WATERBy: Leah GillWater Issues in the Middle EastIn the Middle East, unfortunately, water is often scarce, and over the last century its consumption has increased faster than the population. The river Jordan, so famous in history and religion, is now nothing more than a creek. UN InvolvementIn the future, global climate change will become more of an issue for UNHCR. The climate-induced degradation of fresh water resources and a related decline in food production are already having an impact on many of UNHCR's operations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The overall objective of UNHCR's water and sanitation programs is to minimize avoidable mortality and morbidity among displaced people and to minimize the resulting impact on the local environment

Future OutlookThe Middle East has numerous struggles with its current water resources, and the region needs more than one solution to generate an optimistic environmental position for the future.