ABSTRACT
Water is vital for human existence, but unlike other natural resources such as energy, there are no substitutes. For large segments of the world’s population, the procurement of clean, plentiful water is a daily struggle. The United Nations (UN) estimates that by 2025, more than 2.8 billion people worldwide will be living in countries that are water-stressed – that is, when available freshwater resources per capita falls below 1,700 cubic meters per year (FAO 2007). Freshwater resources are, moreover, unevenly distributed both geographically and temporally (see Figure 26.1); the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in particular, is one of the most water-scarce areas in the world (World Bank 2007). With 5 per cent of the world’s population, it contains less than 1 per cent of the world’s available fresh water (Al-Jayyousi 2004). Expected population growth for 2025, according to Sowers et al. (2010), will further increase the level of water stress in the MENA, as water availability per capita is likely to decrease in the range of 30 to 70 per cent. Most MENA countries will then be under the definition of ‘absolute water scarcity’ (i.e. less than 500 m3/year/capita) (Sowers et al. 2010). With the world’s largest population, China also faces comparable levels of water scarcity (757 m3/year/capita) in its northern region, where 42 per cent of the population lives, but which only has access to 14 per cent of the country’s water (UNDP 2006: 136-7).
