Water problems in the Middle East region are diverse and changing as the gap between supply and demand is widening. Water issues are linked to scarcity, misdistribution, and sharing. The development and management of regional water resources in the Middle East region presents a challenge for water managers and experts.
The Middle East is a good example of a region facing relatively acute water shortages. In 1992, the per capita availability of water from existing national sources in West Bank and Gaza was estimated at 111 m3, in Kuwait 180 m3, in Tunisia 200 m3, in Yemen 210 m3, in Jordan 233 m3 and in Sudan 550 m3 (Rogers et al. , 1993).
Besides scarcity and misdistribution, the third basic aspect of water as a resource is that it crosses national boundaries. In the Middle East, the Disi groundwater aquifer is shared by Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the Tigris and the Euphrates crosses three countries, the Orontes (Asi) also directly involves three countries. Thus, if we consider the combination of these major features of water (scarcity, misdistribution, and sharing), one outstanding implication emerges e.g., the great need for cooperation among national riparian states, indeed even among groups within nation states, and the correspondingly great likelihood of potential conflict.
The significance of this paper stems from the fact that future options for water management in the region include the development and management of shared groundwater resources. These options must meet specific conditions with regard to building consensus on basic assumptions, procedures, benefits and externalities of future regional projects in the region. The paper addresses these aspects along with identifying relevant Islamic laws and principles to establish binding agreements among riparian states.
Authors: O. R. Zimmo and R. M. Al-Sa`ed
Dr. Zimmo is an Assistant Professor at Birzeit University, Palestine. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Wageningen University and UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands, an M.Sc in Sanitary Engineering from Tufts University-Boston and a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from Al-Mansoura University in Egypt. His research interests lie in the areas of water quality, environment pollution, and monitoring studies in the field of water and wastewater treatment and reuse. Dr. Zimmo has been involved in the preparation and execution of water and environment related projects funded by international agencies including GTZ, InWEnt, USAID, the World Bank and the EU. He is also working as a consultant for several local and international organizations.
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