Making the Most of Scarcity: Accountability for Better Water Management Results in the Middle East and North Africa

by World Bank

• ISBN13: 9780821369258
• ISBN10: 0821369253
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-15
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

Water in the Middle East and North Africa region is a source of major social and economic problems stemming from scarcity, variability, unreliable services, and environmental damage. The situation is likely to become even worse in the future, unless current practices change: by 2050 per capita availability will fall by half, water quality will deteriorate further, and more aquifers will become depleted. Climate change is predicted to worsen the problems by increasing temperatures and causing more droughts and floods.While water professionals have been advocating comprehensive water reforms for years and many countries have improved their water policies and institutions, some of the most politically sensitive elements of reform remain untouched. This report suggests that a series of factors are now emerging that represent a potential opportunity to break this impasse. Turning the potential into reality will depend upon three things:- Adopting reforms that respond to the dynamics of the political economy;- Recognizing that water policies cannot act alone, but that water outcomes are often determined by other sectors, such as trade, agriculture, finance, and energy; and- Choosing policies and practices that make government institutions and service providers more accountable to the public.'Making the Most of Scarcity' will be of interest to readers working in the areas of agribusiness and markets, agriculture, urban and rural development, water supply, and water resources, as well as those responsible for setting policies in the areas of environment, economics, and social protection.

Table of Contents

Factors inside and outside the water sector drive MENA's water outcomes	p. 1
Progress, but problems	p. 33
Several factors that drive the politics of water reform are changing	p. 59
MENA countries can leverage the potential for change by improving external accountability	p. 95
MENA countries can meet the water management challenges of the twenty-first century	p. 115
Water resources data	p. 139
Water services data	p. 153
Country profiles	p. 159
Case studies : mitigating risks and conflict	p. 199
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