FAO.org

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, already exposed to chronic shortage of water, will face in the coming decades a severe intensification of water scarcity due to several drivers, including demographic growth and its related food demands, urbanization, energy demand and overall socio-economic development. Furthermore, the NENA region is experiencing more frequent, intense extreme events (in particular droughts) as a consequence of climate change.

The recently agreed Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) requires evidently a ‘transformational’ change in managing strategic resources as water, land and energy. The Countries of the Near east and North Africa Region need to strategically plan their water resources management and water allocation and adopt good practices to ensure alignment with the imperatives of (i) setting the sustainable limits of water consumption and (ii) making the best use of each single drop of water, including the use of non-conventional water sources.