Internal renewable water resources are estimated at 92BCM, with another 13CM coming in from transboundary resources. Surface run-off represents a total of 97.3km3/year, of which 5.4 km3/year come from draining the aquifers.

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problems are, however, man-made: water infrastructure debilitated from decades of war and neglect; inefficient and outdated agricultural practices; rapid population growth and urbanization; competing water management approaches within transboundary river systems; and the looming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

The two dominant rivers in Iraq are the Tigris and Euphrates. The watersheds, including their tributaries, account for 100% of the country’s surface water.

The Euphrates-Tigris basin is among the most important river basins in Turkey and in the Middle East. The average annual discharge of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is 84 billion m3, which equals to the average annual flow of the Nile River. Euphrates provides 90 per cent of water, whose average annual flow is 32 billion m3, from Turkey.

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.

Between 1950 and 1965, open irrigation canals were constructed in Turkey. Irrigation systems with canalettes have been introduced since 1965. Irrigation systems with canallettes were constructed between 1970 and 1980. By 1990, low and medium pipe network with advanced pipe technologies have been used.

further reading to Lebanon country file

The shared nature of Israel’s water resources poses a particular challenge. In order for water use to become sustainable in the region, transboundary water management must be improved.

Israel has developed innovative solutions to address its water challenges. The most significant of these are desalination and wastewater reuse . . .

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.