@Bibalex Issam Azouri, FAO Regional communication consultant speaking about job opportunities created by FAO regional initiative on water scarcity

Alexandria, 24 March 2016--FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa participated at the regional celebration of the World Water Day 2016, organized by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the presence of representatives from ILO and UNESCO, in addition to the faculty and students from Alexandria university.

The celebration included the regional launch of this year’s multi agencies’ edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR-2016) under the theme of “Water and Jobs”.

The celebration started with an inaugural speech of Ms. Manar Badr, Director of the Main Library Department at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, followed by a pre-recorded message from Ms. Irina Bokova UNESCO Director-General.  

Then Dr. Bisher Imam from UNESCO Regional office shared highlights from the 2016 World Water Development Report, and talked about UNESCO Water Programs in the Arab Region.

ILO representative at the event, Ms. Josee-Anne Larue talked about green jobs and other ILO initiatives in the region.

FAO RNE Communication Consultant, Issam Azouri, spoke on behalf of the Water scarcity team at FAO RNE, explaining that “while water availability is only about 10 percent of the world average, the region is still expected to respond food demand 3 times the current level - importing over 65 million tons of cereal annually. At the same time, under 4 percent of the land is cultivated, yet up to 30 percent of natural resources and energy used to produce food are wasted along production and consumption pathways.”

Azouri noted the importance of managing food loss and food waste throughout the value chain, giving the example of an apple that needs 120 liters of water to grow, and explaining that saving the 30% of wasted crops is equivalent to adding more than 30% to the existing agricultural areas.

He told students that FAO’s approach to address water scarcity will open the door to new specialties, hence the urgency for a new set of experts in the field of water management, remote sensing and data analysis experts.

On this occasion, FAO RNE distributed its brochure on the Sustainability  Development Goals, as well as a summary on water security in the Near East and North Africa Region, prepared by FAO Deputy Regional Representative for NENA, Mr. Pasquale Steduto, and the Senior Water Resources Officer Fawzi Karajeh.