Source: The National Vesela Todorova   Abu Dhabi, which has the highest water consumption rate in the world, is planning to slash consumption and focus on conservation. Residents used an average of 550 litres of water a day compared with 85 litres in Jordan, a country with a similar climate, said Dr Mohammed Dawoud, manager of the water resources department at the Environment Agency – Abu... [read more]

How disappointing and sad it is to see a country that is rich in water resources having two rivers (Tigris-Euphrates) passing through the country and being the cradle of irrigation face water shortage. Another drastic impact of the chaos caused by the US invasion of Iraq. This is a report from IRIN news   Iraq is suffering from water shortages that could lead to widespread drought as a result... [read more]

This is the summary of scenario session on water scarcity in relation to food (in)security which was held in WEF MENA 2008.   Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Bin Sulaiman Balghunaim • E. Neville Isdell • Mahmoud Safwat Mohieldin •Raed Abu Al Saud • Mahmoud Abu Zeid Opening Remarks: • H.R.H. Prince Turki Bin Talal Al Saud Moderator: • Margaret Catley-Carlson    In the Sustainable World, water scarcity,... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times By: Hana Namrouqa   The Kingdom’s underground water situation is alarming, a prominent water expert said on Wednesday. Elias Salameh, a professor specialised in the topic at the University of Jordan, said both the quality and quantity of the Kingdom’s water in aquifers are declining, pinning blame on overpumping and the meagre rainfall during the winter. Excessive... [read more]

AEW- compiled from different news   In an amazing example of privatization of natural resources, news leaked from Uganda state that the source of the Nile River has fallen into the hand on an investor. According to a news article published at Allafrica website the Jinja District Land Board has given away the ownership of the land in the source of Nile to investment. Details are still scanty but... [read more]

Two weeks ago a statement by the Minister of Water and Irrigation caused havoc in the Jordanian society. By declaring that the government is "discussing" the option of increasing the prices for domestic water, the Jordanian consumer was hit with fear of yet another increase in the price of basic commodities. Indeed the threat of increasing the price of water is linked to a possible reduction in the... [read more]

Press release Feb 24, 2008   A persistent shortage of potable water in the City of Algiers, Algeria was eased today as the US $250 million Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant (SWDP) was officially opened by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Jeff Garwood president and CEO, GE Water Process Technologies, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Completed on time and on budget... [read more]

Renound Egyptian scientist Dr. farouq Al Baz has acheived a remarkable discovery few weeks ago by specifying the location of groundwater wells in the war torn area of Darfur. Will this discovery bring the people in the area closer to peace and development or it will increase the intensity of the conflict. This is a thorough report from the Christian Science Monitor   Farouk el-Baz has been peering... [read more]

The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water has announced the submission of applications and enteries for the current round with an application deadline of end of December 2007.  This prestigious International Prize consists of five different awards in separate fields of water resources: - Surface Water: Topic – Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems - Ground Water:... [read more]

It has spread like a contagious disease in the last few months, where many Arab countries are planning to introduce nuclear energy to drive the ever increasing thurst for water by desalination. Many oil producing and energy poor countries alike are putting together ambitious plan to go to the nuclear alternative either to produce enough electricity or water. This report from United Press International... [read more]

By: Batir Wardam   With a water per capita share of 160 cubic meters per year, Jordan is among the world's top 10 water scarce countries. The struggle to provide adequate and clean water resources is one of the biggest developmental challenges in Jordan. At the center of the debate about water management is the issue of water pricing and valuation.   Although the infrastructure of water supply... [read more]

The majestic city of Petra has won its righteous place in the World New Seven Wonders. Regardless of UNESCO's reservations, the voting process represented a "global collective approach" of cultural diversity that was made by people and public participation. Petra's uniquness was decribed by the New 7 wonders committee as a symbol of "engineering and protection". One of the most amazing achievements... [read more]

Source: Reuters June 18 2007 By Bonny Apunyu   Algerian environmentalists on Sunday urged the Algerian government to protect a major Mediterranean wetland threatened by the construction of a $11-billion (around R78.1-billion) highway seen by the authorities as key to boosting Maghreb trade. news sources said the environmentalists warned in a petition to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika... [read more]

Source: Environment & Development Magazine   By: Nadine Haddad El-Hajj & Lea Kai Have you ever heard of A Town where the public phone booth was installed before people received water to their houses? No, it is not a scene from one of those back-to-past movies, where the hero goes back to the Middle Ages with a piece of technology from the 21st century; it is the true story of the suffering... [read more]

Nomination is opened for the 3rd Award 2006-2008 of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water: This international scientific prize is a significant contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the global water issues which represent one of the most pressing human, economic and political concerns worldwide.  The Prize is intended to support water scientific research worldwide... [read more]

The LIFE-Environment project “A cost-effective decision support system for management of boreal river basins” (LIFE98 ENV/FIN/573) was developed to maintain or improve the clean status of Finnish rivers and to promote ecologically sustainable land-use, develop assessments of river status, and improve environmental awareness of the ecological impacts of land-derived loading on river ecosystems. Known... [read more]

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Source: Jordan Times 7-6-2007   By Hana Namrouqa  AMMAN — Demographic changes and migrations have created an imbalance between available water resources and demand, Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem said on Wednesday. In his remarks at the opening session of a regional forum on local water governance entitled “Water is everybody’s business,” Alem said per capita water supply... [read more]

The option of developing market mechanisms for water resource management has been advocated by a lot of international development organizations with an economic liberalization state of mind by led by the World Bank and the World Water Council. This approach has been criticised by the other spectrum of development organization with more interest in social democracy, pointing out that this approach... [read more]

Middle East Events 27.5.2007   Arab states were urged to upgrade and develop national standards and specifications for water uses of various kinds including those for the transportation and distribution of water. This came in a set of recommendations made by a two-day workshop on “Integrated Water Resources Management”, organised last week by Environment Centre for Arab Towns (ECAT), Dubai... [read more]

This is an interesting article from the prominant economic columnist Hussein Shobakshi at Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. I just love it when economic analysts show environmental awareness.   Avoiding a Water Crisis 19/05/2007   With the growing number of reports and books confirming the words of political experts and strategic analysts that the next war in the Middle East will be fought over water... [read more]

Jordan Times Monday April 16 - 2007 By Mohammad Ben Hussein   Water experts on Sunday said the need for better management of water resources has become increasingly important, as the Kingdom continues to suffer from a chronic water shortage. “Jordan still has a long way to go before it can be considered a model for water management,” Regional Monitoring and Support Unit (RMSU) team... [read more]

The majestic Nile River is among the world's most threatened 10 rivers according to a recent publication from the World Wide Fund (WWF).   The report, World's Top Rivers at Risk, released ahead of World Water Day (22 March), lists the top ten rivers that are fast dying as a result of climate change, pollution and dams. “All the rivers in the report symbolize the current freshwater crisis, which... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Mohammad Ben Hussein  AMMAN – The World Bank on Wednesday invited international companies to bid for a $15.5 million feasibility study to examine the environmental and social impacts of the Red-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project on the surrounding countries. “The overall objective of the study is to evaluate the conveyance of water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea... [read more]

Burlington/Nairobi, 22 March 2007.  While there has been some improvement in the quality of water in some parts of the world, there are still serious problems that must be addressed for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a new report from the GEMS/Water Programme of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Water Quality Outlook, launched as part of today’s observance... [read more]

Another interesting report published by IPS on the occasion of world water day. This one goes deep to discuss water pollution and emerging scarcity in Egypt.   Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Mar 22 (IPS) - Over the course of the 1990s, grave warnings were occasionally aired about the role of water in Middle Eastern power politics. In 1991, former Egyptian foreign minister Boutros... [read more]

A new video film on Waqf for Water has been produced by IUCN WESCANA in cooperation with InWent. This 8-minute video film promotes new prospects for innovative funding of water projects that can be of benefit to the water critical crisis in the region. According to the video, the Middle East and North Africa region is the most arid in the world and water resources are consequently very sparse. Of the... [read more]

The World Bank has published a new voluminous report on water scarcity conditions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).   The WB press release states that " The report discusses how water management solutions need to be considered as part of the wider economic policies of the countries of the region. "Meeting the water needs of the growing population of the Middle East and North Africa... [read more]

Source: IPS news   Meena Janardhan   DUBAI, Mar 21 (IPS) - The holy month of Ramadan is a time when Muslims retreat into fasting and prayer. Last September though, devotees near the Saudi port city of Jeddah had violence on their minds as they broke a day-long fast. Fists flew when told that water brought them in tankers had run out. Such scenarios reflect the growing problem of water shortage... [read more]

Source: 7 days magazine   It might just be another Thursday for many people, but for the more environmentally inclined among us, today is to be celebrated as ‘World Water Day’. Water, the stuff of life, the stuff that we need for almost every aspect of survival is under threat and environmental experts have warned that fresh water is set to become even more precious as global warming begins to... [read more]