The World Bank predicts a dramatic decline in water availability in the Middle East and north Africa and urges countries in the region to re-examine how they use the precious resource. The bank estimates that per capita water availability in the region will fall by at least 50 percent by 2050 and warned of serious social and economic consequences if countries do not adapt their current water management practices, according to the new Regional Report on Water: Making the Most of Scarcity released in Cairo on 11 March 2007. Even today inefficient water management currently costs economies in the region approximately 1 to 3 percent of gross domestic product every year.

To follow up on the recommendations in the report, Dr. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, the president of the Arab Water Council and the Egyptian minister of water resources and irrigation, announced plans by the Arab Water Council and the World Bank to create a new regional center of excellence. The center will be funded with a US$300,000 grant from the World Bank.

Contact: Dina El Naggar, e-mail

Source: World Bank, 11 Mar 2007

Tags: policies & legislation, water resources management