Water Conservation in the Arab Region

The Arab region covers an area of over 13 million square kilometers, with almost 90% of it is either arid or extremely arid with very little precipitation, extremely high evaporation and almost no vegetation cover. The region is classified in many international reports as the poorest region in the world in the context of renewable water resources and critical water scarcity, which hinders the socio-economic development of many countries in this region. The rapidly increasing population has reduced the per capita share of renewable water to less than the poverty line of 1000 m³/(capita·a) and, in many Arab countries, to less than the extreme poverty line of 500 m³/(capita·a). This has led to over-exploitation of non-renewable groundwater and desalination of salty water in many countries with considerable costs and contamination of many renewable sources. Atmospheric processes responsible for aridity in the Arab region are projected to intensify due to climate change, resulting in an alarming decrease in precipitation and increase in evaporation rates. It is recognized that water security is a key element to achieve food security, socio-economic development and ultimately political stability in the region. Hence, various efforts have been exerted to identify key problems and suggested solutions. The Arab Water Ministers Council of the Arab League, as well as Reports of the Arab Forum for the Environment and Development (AFED) and the recommendations of Regional Meetings of the Arab National Committees of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO (IHP), among others, have all made similar recommendations on the need to address the issues of water scarcity in the Arab region. However, water conservation has been endorsed as an important area for coping with water scarcity in the region. There are many definitions of water conservation in the scientific literature, and many areas of action including huge water savings from irrigation, industrial use, and domestic use as well as methods and approaches for augmenting water supply through non-conventional practices such as water harvesting and waste water reuse. In this paper, a review is provided for definitions, methods and impacts of water conservation and its role in alleviating water scarcity in the Arab region.