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problems are, however, man-made: water infrastructure debilitated from decades of war and neglect; inefficient and outdated agricultural practices; rapid population growth and urbanization; competing water management approaches within transboundary river systems; and the looming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.

Internationally, a water availability below 1,000 m3 per person per year is defined as water scarcity, while below 500 m3 is considered “absolute scarcity”. Jordan’s lack of water resources impacts the country’s economic growth, political stability and national security, but also public health.

Groundwater and surface water account for respectively 51% and 49% of total water supply in Lebanon. Most of the surface water supply originates from spring sources, with 637 MCM/yr currently exploited.

Lebanon is naturally water rich compared to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, much of this water flows to the sea unused due to inefficient use and poorly maintained or absent infrastructure.

This will require not only a comprehensive managerial framework, but also strong political will and focus to tackle a rapidly worsening situation and ensure long-term sustainability of the resource.

In many ways, past policies and practices have exacerbated the problems of access, abstraction and overuse of this essential natural resource. After decades of relying mainly on supply-side solutions, Jordan has expanded its approaches to addressing these problems.

With much of its land an arid, inhospitable desert, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, one of the world’s driest countries, threatens to die of thirst. Analysts have long warned that Jordan, saddled with shrinking renewable resources and a quickly growing population, faced a reckoning. In recent years, however, the challenges confronting this parched kingdom have accelerated.

Fanack Water speaks to Tawfiq Habashneh, Secretary General of the Water Authority of Jordan, about supplying water to a growing population.

Jordan’s water resources

Fanack Water provides accessible, well-researched information on the state of water resources in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through peer-reviewed country files and special reports, as well as interviews and opinion pieces on latest developments in the water sector of each MENA country.