Morocco’s water resources are under increasing pressure from population and industrial growth, irrigated agriculture, urbanization, tourism, climate change, overexploitation of aquifers and deteriorating water quality.

Algeria, like many other countries in the world, is facing significant natural, environmental and climatic challenges. Its galloping population coupled with increasing water demand is putting this vital resource – and by extension social and economic development – at risk.

To meet the minimum standards for water quantity and quality set by the World Bank, Algeria developed an ambitious strategy to increase water supply through huge investments in the improvement of the hydraulic infrastructure as well as organizational and institutional restructuring focused on the valuation of the resource

The limited availability of fresh water in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has for decades presented a major challenge to the Gulf state’s government and people.

With an area of 1.8 million km², Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa. It consists generally of flat plains, with a few mountain outcrops such as Jebel Marra in the west, the Red Sea Hills in the east and the Ingessna Hills and the Nuba Mountains in the centre.

The primary source of water in the marshlands is the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with several major tributaries flowing from Iran towards Tigris and Hawizeh. From the head of the Upper Mesopotamian Plain to the Gulf, the rivers meander slowly.

The Islamic Republic of Iran covers a total area of 1.75 million km2 and is bordered by Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and Iraq and Turkey to the west.

The total long-term annual renewable water resources are estimated at 120BCM, of which about 78BCM go to surface run-off, and groundwater recharge is estimated at about 42BCM per annum, 11BCM by qanats (underground water supply systems) and springs, plus 31BCM by wells.

Iran is facing unprecedented challenges in securing water and food for its growing population, which is projected to reach 92 million by 2050. These challenges are due not only to Iran’s semi-arid climate and declining precipitation over the past decade, but also to mismanagement of water resources.

Sustainable water resource management in Iraq has no shortage of challenges. Some of Iraq’s water hardships, like seasonal floods and droughts, occur naturally. Many of the most disruptive and destructive problems are, however, man-made: water infrastructure debilitated from decades of war and neglect; inefficient and outdated agricultural practices; rapid population growth and urbanization; competing water management approaches within transboundary river systems; and the looming crisis of climate change. The government of Iraq has plans to address the situation but it remains to be seen whether major reform will transpire.

Water supply and food security will pose a major challenge in the coming years, which many government officials refer to as a human security issue. Both the country’s natural climatic situation and the government policies in managing its limited water resources over the past few decades have exacerbated this challenge.