ByABDIN M.A. SALIH

Director, UNESCO Cairo Office

Eleventh Gulf Water Conference“Water in the GCC Countries Towards Efficient Management”20-22 October 2014, Muscat, Oman

Sustainable Management of Surface and Groundwater in the Arab Region

1

Global Water Resources

2

Glaciers68.70%

GroundWater30.10%

Oceans97.50%

Global distribution of fresh water

Freshwater2.50%

Total Volume:35.2 million km3

Permafrost

0.80%Surface &

Atmos. 0.40%

FreshwaterLakes

67.40%

SoilMoisture

12.20%

Atmosphere

9.50%Wetlands

8.50%Rivers1.60%

Biosphere1%

. Data source: Shiklomanov, I. A., and J. C. Rodda. (2003).3

Water and PopulationWater is not everywhere

8% 13%

36% 60%

11% 13%

26% 6%

5% 1%

15% 8%

Approximate percentage of global water supply

Approximate percentage of global population

4

The Deepening WaterCrisis in the ArabRegion

A baseline of waterscarcity

15

Precipitation

6

Rainfall Distribution in the Arab Region

South Sudan

Renewable ground water resources Non-renewable groundwater Non ground water resources

Aridity

Hyper-Arid AridSemi-AridDry-Sub humid Moist-Sub humidHumid

7

Most of the Arab countries suffer water scarcity

8

Fresh Water Withdrawal In the Arab Region

9

Water Withdrawals in the MENA Region by Source

Source: Siddiqi and Anadon, 201135

Excessive withdrawal of renewable waterin the Arab region

10

The Arab region faces the highest pressureon its limited water resources

18

Water Demand: Consumption in the Arab region

22

Conservation isa necessity& a core sustainabilityprinciple

19

Cons

erva

tion

Water LossReduction

(WLR)

• Distribution LR• Usage LR• Value of Water

Elements of Conservation

Unconventional Resources

• New Supplies• Reuse-recycle

20

LOSS REDUTION INAGRICULTURL WATER

USE

Loss reduction –Multiple Aspects

LOSS REDUTION INMUNICIPAL WATER

USELOSS REDUTION ININDUSTRIALWATER USE

21

Arab AgricultureConservation is a MustThe water-food nexus

42

Relatively High Agricultural Water Withdrawal inThe Arab Region

43

• Inefficient use of water resource in the agricultural sector

• Such a wasteful use of scarce water resourcesshould not continue

• More efforts should be directed towards waterconservation practices.

Consensus about water use by agriculturein the Arab Region

45

Improve irrigation methods

To

46

Conservation inMunicipal Water Use

22

Cities will grow fast in the MENA Region

23

EPA-AWA Conceptual framework of Water LossesSy

stem

inpu

tVol

ume

Authorized Consumption

Billed Authorized Consumption

Billed metered consumption

Billed Un-metered Consumption

Revenue water

Un-billed Authorized Consumption

Un-billed Metered Consumption

Un-billed Un-metered Consumption

Non-Revenue

Water

Unauthorized

Water losses Apparent losses Consumption

Meter Inaccuracies

Systematic Data Handling Errors

Real losses (Physical Losses)

Leakage in Transmission& Distribution Mains

Storage Leaks and Overflow from storage

Tanks, Service Connection Leaks Up to meter

24

Water Challenges in the Arab Region

42

Challenges in the Arab Region

Water Scarcity and High Stress. Growing Population and Accelerated Demand. Inefficiencies in Water allocation. Spatial and Temporal Variability. Pollution. Climate Change. Problems of Governance and Institutional Arrangement.In adequate Capacity Development.Poor finance to Research on science, Technology and InnovationTransboundary Constraints

Consensus and recognition of key challenges

Arab Ministerial Water Council approved Arab Water Security StrategyArab IHP Nat Com: Regional Meeting and consultationsArab Water Council: Arab Water Forums

Climate ChangeAn Added Pressure

14

Georg Kaser15

Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)In t er nat ionalHydro log ic a lProg ramme (IHP)

•The cycle is changing?•Increased risks?•Growing vulnerability?•More disasters ?•Less water for people?•Crisis is looming?•What crisis?•Global or local?

16

16

Climate Change and Drought

Heating

TemperatureEvaporation

GHG

High er t em pera t u r e Leads t o h igh er ra t es o f ev apora t ion f r o m an d ev apo t ra n sp i ra t ion

1 Lead in g t o f ast er dep let ion o f so i l m o ist u r e( Dr o u gh t con d i t ion s) .

0

2

I n cre ased GHG Con cen t ra t ion leads t o h eat in go f t h e at m osph ere

Hot t er at m osph er e h as a h igh er w at er h o ld in gcap aci t y . More m o ist u r e re m ain s in t h eat m osph ere an d t h e ra t e r ecy cl in g t h ro u gh

Water Holding Capacity

Atmospheric Moisture

Green House Effect

Rain Intensity

FloodDrought

Residence Time

p re cip i t at ion slow s dow n . I n cre asedev apora t ion ra t e leads t o ev en h igh er am ou n t so f at m osph er i c m o ist u r e, an dw at er v apor , bein g a GHG can con t r i bu t e t of u r t h er h eat in g .

Mor e v apor is av ai lab le f o r p re cip i t at ion , bu tat lesser f re qu en cy of even t s. Rain f al lv ar i ab i l i t y in cre ases an d t h e p r o bab i l i t y o fex t re m e even t s m ay in cr ease desp i t e o f l i t t leo r n o ch an ge in t o t al an n u al p re cip i t at ion .W at er v apor is a GHG an d i t s in cre ase m ayex aspera t e t h e p r o b lem .

On t h e ear t h ’s su r f ace, m ore ex t r em e even t sare l ik ely . Sn ow season s sh or t en s an d t h ein t en se p re cip i t at ion cau ses f lood . Th e low erf re qu en cy of ra inev apo t ra n sp i ra t ioncon d i t ion s.

day s an d in cre aseddr o u gh tcon t r i bu t e t o

3

417

Lack of Information and Data: Real Constraint

14

Lack of information and data at a time when we need it more than ever to deal with increasing complexity

GRDC: Current stations in historical database indicated by time series end

Transboundary Challenges.....Will Scarcity lead to

Conflicts

The Nile River basin

The Jordan River basin

The Tigris Euphrates basin

The Transboundary issues

IHP inventory of Transboundary aquifers

Year 2007:273 TA

Year 2009: 380 TA

Year 2012: 455 TA

Year 2014: 608 TA

According to IGRAC, the identified number of Transboundary aquifers increased as follows:

0

0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Formal war (0)

Extensive military act (21)

Small scale military act (17)

Political/Military hostile acts (6)

Diplomatic/economic hostile acts (68)

Strong/official verbal hostility (227)

Mild/unofficial verbal hostility (420)

Neutral, non-significant act (122)

Mild verbal support (682)

Official verbal support (276)

Cultural scientific agreement (246)

Non-military econ, techno, agreement (334)

Military, econ, techno agreement (7)

International water treaty (164)

Unification into one nation (0)

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

BAR

(Wat

er E

vent

Inte

nsity

) Sca

le

Number of Events (1948-2008)

The realityOne war over water: Umma/Lagash in Somer 4500 yrs ago

Data: Oregon State University

-

“But the water problems of our world need not be only a cause of tension; they can also be a catalyst for cooperation

….If we work together, a secure and sustainable water future can be ours.”

Kofi Annan, February 2002

Comparing 1948-1999 and 2000-2008 TRENDSThere is an increase in the percentage of cooperative events in 4 basins:

Jordan, Tigris-Euphrates/Shatt al Arab, Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, Danube

BAR-scale for MENA Region switches mode from negative to positiveGlobally 65.9% of the water-related events were cooperative 29.4% were conflictive events.

Inadequacy in Capacity Building

19

Education, Research, and DevelopmentExpenditure (2010 UNESCO Science Report)

Remains low compared to developing countries

Scientific publications/Million of population (2002/2008)

Source: UNESCO Science Report (2010)

49

Opportunities

Non-ConventionalSource: Water Harvesting

49

Potential for water harvesting in Arab Countries

(AOAD, 2002)

Country Volume in BCM Utilization as % of rainfall

Rainfall Utilization

Jordan 8.5 0.425 5Tunisia 36 0.936 2.6Sudan 400 4

1.6Syria 85 2 2.4Morocco 150 20 1.3Yemen 68 6.12 9N. Libya 30 0.9 3Algeria 192 5.76 3Mauritania 175 4.37 2.5Egypt 15 0.225 1.5

50

Earth dam

CisternHafir

Water Harvesting Tradition in the Arab Region

Rooftop

Staircase

Flooding

Yard Collector

51

Rainwater harvesting techniques and management practices used in Yemen

52

ICQHSInternational Centre for qanats and historic structures

Restoration of Qanat and introduction of new technology

53

NonConventionalSource: Desalinization

54

NonConventionalSource: Virtual Waterand the water-food nexus

58

Role of Virtual Water (% of total water use)

59

Global Virtual Water Balance and Movement

WWDR-III60

Global Average Embedded Water Litres/Caloriefor different food products

Source: Zygmunt, 2007.Data from Chapagain and Hoekstra 2004 and the author’s own calorie estimates61

Water Intensity in Comparison to Various Diets

Source: Zygmunt, 2007. After: Renault and Wallender 200062

CombineApproaches

WATER SCARCITY and REGIONALCONSTRAINTS

Strict but rationalmanagement

of water demand

Seek ways andmeans to preserveand augment the

New Paradigm: Water Scarcity as an opportunity for sustainable development

(Conservation) supplyPotential for utilizing

Water Harvesting

Desalination

Swamps and wetlands

Water Reuse

There remain deficiencies of managerial capabilities

and high level of technology in order to successfully

achieve the above approaches.

63

Meeting the demand Without managing the supply

Sustainability means providing an adequate and reliable water supply of desired quality –now and for future generations – in a manner that integrates economicgrowth, environmental protection and social development.

American Water Works Association

Sustainability the Utility Company View

25

Sustainability Challenge: Increasing Population

GCC Countries Population and Water Use 1950-2025Source: Dawoud and Abderrahman, 200638

Sustainability Challenge: Increasing Energy Consumption

Per Capita energy consumption in the GCC countries is rising significantlySource: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010

39

Sustainability Challenge: Increasing Water Demand

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 201040

Focus on the “Supply-Side” of water management Absence of proper “Demand Management”

Economic tools; non-existent of pricesignalingmechanism: metering & pricing, subsidiesTechnological tools: water-saving devicesLegislative tools: building codes and bylaws

Inadequate public awareness of the Water scarcity and situation in the region

Source: Al-Zubari, 2011

Sustainability Challenge: Institutional Challenges

Main reasons for the escalating andexaggeration of urban water demands in GCC

41

Water at UNESCO

IHP-VIII 2014-2021

UNESCO Water Family

27 Approved centers, 22 signed agreements (Established)5 New Centres in process

30 Water related UNESCO Chairs After Bisher Imam:Water Cooperation in the Nile Basin: From Concepts to Action3 – 6 Dec. 2013, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

UNESCO Water Family Meeting

Regional Centre for Training and Water Studies of Arid and Semi-arid Zones, Egypt

Regional Center on Capacity Development and Research in Water Harvesting, Sudan

Regional Centre for Shared Aquifer Resources Management, Libya

Water Research Centre, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait

Central Laboratory for Environmental Monitoring, Egypt

Category-2 Centers in the Arab Region

Regional NetworkingArab G-WADI

Network of Universities

Water Science for Peace and SustainableDevelopment in the Eastern Nile

Arab Network on Wadi Hydrology Arab Network on Groundwater Protection

Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing, University of California, Irvine

App

licat

ions

Drought Management Flood Forecasting Water Resources

Alg

orith

m

Web

Ser

vice

s

G-WADI GeoServer

Ongoing IHP Projects in the Arab Region

Initiating Future Water Collaboration in the Arab region based on Arab Water Security and IHP-VIII: Water Security.

• An Expert Group Meeting was successfully organized in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt during 17-18 September 2014. • A proposed initial title of the initiative is “Sustainable Water Resources Management under Scarcity Conditions in the Arab

Region”. • Fourteen regional water experts attended the meeting representing 8 Arab countries, namely: Egypt, Sudan, Oman, Bahrain,

Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait and Jordan in addition to representatives of regional organizations and institutions such as League of Arab States (LAS), Arab Water Council (AWC) and UNESCO Cairo Office (UCO).

Capacity Building for Water Strategies and Action Plans formulations

• Joint collaboration with Arab G-Wadi Secretariat-Oman, LAS, ISESCO, AWC, GIZ, ALECSO. • A regional workshop is planned during 16-18 Nov. 2014

Gender Mainstreaming in IWRM at Rural Areas

• Preparation of a comprehensive technical study in Morocco in joint collaboration with UNESCO Chair on Water, Women and Decision Power of Morocco

• Support the organization of a special session within the 3rd Arab Water Forum in joint collaboration with the Arab Water Council

Groundwater Governance in the Arab Region

• Organization of a regional Workshop on Effective Groundwater Governance in the Arab Region, Sharm El Shiekh, Egypt; 19-21 September 2014

• Thirteen regional water experts attended the workshop representing 11 Arab countries, namely: Egypt, Sudan, Oman, Bahrain, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, KSA, Yemen, Algeria and Jordan in addition to representatives of UNESCO Cairo Office (UCO)

Preparation of Water and Education General Guide for Teachers of the Arab Countries

The challenge we all have

How to put water in the minds of

people?

64