Tag Archives: Water Scarcity

Scaling Sustainable Agri-Tech in MENA: Policy, Finance and the Roadblocks Ahead

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Food security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is facing a turning point. It’s well known that the area is short on fertile land. What’s newsworthy is that agri-tech solutions are being mobilized quickly to address this long-standing issue and how policy, capital and old-school obstacles shape the path ahead. Here’s a clear view of what’s happening, how it works and why it matters. The State of Agri-Tech in MENA The hunger risk in MENA is serious. In 2023, 66.1 million people in Arab regions faced starvation. Wars are driving several countries toward famine, while water scarcity … Continue reading →

Sewer Mining: A Game-Changer for Water-Scarce Cities in MENA

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Sustainability is important everywhere, and it is especially urgent in places with rapidly growing populations that are more prone to lower water scarcity.  The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s hot and dry climate puts cities at risk. However, MENA’s water-scarce cities produce a ton of wastewater that can potentially be treated to accommodate their water needs. What is Sewer Mining? Sewer mining is when wastewater is harvested and treated to remove contaminants and separate certain chemicals so that it can be reused. It is typically sourced and treated locally. It can reduce the demand for potable water by … Continue reading →

Securing Every Drop: The Role of Butterfly Valves in MENA Water Systems

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Water scarcity is one of the most pressing challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Rapid population growth, urban expansion, and climate change are putting unprecedented pressure on an already fragile water infrastructure. According to the World Resources Institute, 12 of the world’s 17 most water-stressed countries are located in the MENA region. Against this backdrop, many countries have had to rely on energy-intensive seawater desalination. Yet every drop of desalinated water comes with significant economic and environmental costs. This makes conserving and using existing water resources more efficiently just as strategically important as developing new sources. In … Continue reading →

How a Vegan Diet Can Drive Sustainability in the MENA Region

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) faces a stark paradox that becomes clearer every dry season: its population is young and expanding, yet its freshwater supply is disappearing faster than in any other region on Earth. Climate models warn that average summer temperatures could rise by another 4 °C by mid‑century, and renewable freshwater resources have already fallen to one‑tenth of the global average. Meanwhile, supermarket shelves in Cairo, Dubai, and Casablanca still overflow with imported beef, chicken, and dairy—foods that consume thousands of litres of water and depend on millions of tonnes of soy and maize shipped from abroad. This article examines … Continue reading →

Climate Change Impacts in the Levant

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Many countries in the Levant — such as Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria — are afflicted by water scarcity, weak institutional and governmental resource management, high food import dependency and fragile economies – all coupled with increasing populations and demand. According to the recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Arab World will be witnessing hotter and drier conditions with extensive droughts causing severe water shortages that will have dire impacts on agriculture and livelihood. Farmers in the Levant have been addressing climate change adaptation and resilience issues through farming, water management and environmental degradation. Global climate … Continue reading →

Food Security Strategy in Qatar

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Qatar is a water-scarce and arid region which has its own share of demographic and socio-economic problems. The cultivation of food crops is a difficult proposition for Qatar due to scarcity of water supply and limited availability of arable land. The country is vulnerable to fluctuations in international commodity markets because of dependence on imported cereals and food items. The increasing dependence on foreign food imports is leading to a growing sense of food insecurity in the country. What is Food Security? Food security is the condition in which all people at all times have a physical and economic access … Continue reading →

Water Scarcity in Bahrain

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Bahrain is listed among the top ten countries that are likely to suffer from a water crisis in the next 25 years. The World Resources Institute (WRI) have estimated that 33 countries, half of which are in the Middle East, would suffer from a severe water crisis by 2040. According to the study that included 167 countries, the top ten countries that would face water crisis by 2040 are Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The finding shows that the Middle East is already probably the least water-secure region in the world as it … Continue reading →

Water Resource Management in GCC – Issues and Challenges

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GCC countries are suffering from a huge deficit in their water resources reaching more than 20 billion cubic meter, being met mainly by an intensive over-drafting of renewable and non-renewable groundwater resources for the agricultural sector, and by the extensive installation of highly expensive desalination plants for the municipal sector, and by reusing a small percentage of treated wastewater in the agricultural and municipal sector. Furthermore, conflict between the agricultural and domestic sectors on the limited water resources in the region are rising, and as a result, groundwater over-exploitation and mining is expected to continue in order to meet growing … Continue reading →

Water Woes in Palestine

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Water crisis in the West Bank and Gaza is largely overshadowed by the overall political tension between Palestine and Israel. However, the ever-growing water conflict between the two sides is a major impediment to reaching a just and peaceful resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, and an essential component for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Ever since the Nakbah (Day of Catastrophe) in 1948, Israel has sought to control the main sources of water, and after the 1967 conflict Israel has managed to control all of the major water sources it shares with Palestine and other neighboring countries such … Continue reading →

Seawater Desalination – A Better Choice for MENA

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Water scarcity is a major problem in many parts of the world affecting quality of life, the environment, industry, and the economies of developing nations. The MENA region is considered as one of the most water-scarce regions of the world. Large scale water management problems are already apparent in the region. While the MENA region’s population is growing steadily, per capita water availability is expected to fall by more than 40-50% by the year 2050. Also, climate change is likely to affect weather and precipitation patterns, and the consequences of which may force the MENA region to more frequent and … Continue reading →

Water Shortages in MENA: A Trigger for Resilience & Innovation

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Water has been – and will continue to be – a key shaper of life on earth. It is a major driver for the rise, dismantle, and displacement of civilizations. History has shown that water could be a cause of peace and conflict among nations.  From a more practical perspective, water is at the heart of socioeconomic and environmental development agendas. The MENA region is the most water-scarce region in the world, a situation being magnified by climate change and political instability. While the impacts of such amplified water challenge are becoming more visible, the indirect and unmeasured impacts on … Continue reading →

Climate Change Impacts in the GCC

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The GCC countries face multitude of climate change challenges including desertification, biodiversity loss, water scarcity and sea level rise. The region is characterized by high temperature, high humidity and arid lands resulting in seriously degraded soil and land damage in addition to salt intrusion in the aquifers affecting the small scale agricultural lands thus enhancing the food security threat in the region. All of the above geographical threats have therefore increased and activated the participation of GCC states in global negotiations recently as evidence are uncovered and impacts being felt across the region. If a couple of days of rain … Continue reading →