According to Iran’s water legislation, three ministries are directly responsible for water resources assessment and development, and namely are : The Ministry of Energy (MoE) , The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and The Department of the Environment (DoE).

Presently, Iraq is contending with two types of water quality issues. One is salinity, the other is the concentration of pollutants in the water related to municipal, industrial and agricultural activities that introduce return flows into freshwater sources.

The Ministry of Water Resources has adopted a strategy on water resource management to address water needs and to overcome water challenges in Iraq. If the strategy is fully implemented, there is projected to be a 24.5% decrease in the freshwater consumption between now and 2035, even as Iraq’s population grows.

The discussions about the creation of a ministry related to the water resources have continued for a long time and took its final form in 2011 under the name of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs.This ministry is responsible for the development of policies related to the protection of water resources and their sustainable use, and the coordination of the national water management.

The total usable water potential of Turkey is 112 Billion m3 of which 98 Billion m3 is surface water and 14 Billion m3 is groundwater. In order to monitor groundwater extractions and prevent overuse, a regulation on groundwater measuring was enacted in 2011.

It is essential to take immediate measures to prevent potential water shortage. Thus, demand-oriented management should be the focus rather than supply-oriented management. Demand-oriented management is provided by efficiently using water resources through limiting demand on water, and setting institutional, economic and administrative incentives to save water. It is essential for water resources management to be flexible and effective enough to adapt to changing climate conditions, dry spells, and new precipitation patterns.

Developed in consultation with the Syrian government, the Assi scheme aims to develop water resources in the basin for irrigation, domestic use and hydropower.

Lebanon has announced the construction of the dam via the United Nations as per the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (to which Israel is not a signatory), which stipulates that signatories must give “prior notification of planned measures”. The plan is currently pending.

Around 92% of Lebanon’s sewage flows into rivers and the sea untreated. Wastewater management is fragmented, with responsibility for project planning and implementation (treatment facilities and connections to networks) split between the CDR, water establishments and municipalities.

Lebanon’s first water laws date back to Ottoman times. They were later amended during the French Mandate and after independence. The Lebanese water sector was restructured following a revision of its legal framework in 2000.