Clean drinking water and sanitation: the experience in the Arab region.

• Author: El-Habr, Habib N.

The Arab region, for the most part, is characterized by dry, harsh climatic conditions and associated scarce water resources. The average annual rainfall is less than 250 mm in 70 per cent of the region and less than 100 mm in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The available water resources are estimated at 265 [km.sup.3], with 225 [km.sup.3] of this in the form of surface water and the remaining 40 [km.sup.3] groundwater. Of these available resources, over 65 per cent originate outside the region--flowing into it via the Euphrates, Tigris and Nile rivers--a situation which gives rise to potential conflicts over shared water resources. Seven countries of the region rank among the ten most water-scarce in the world.

The annual per capita share of renewable resources is less than 500 [m.sup.3] in 70 per cent of the region. The average per capita share is 800 [m.sup.3], which varies from 2,181 [m.sup.3] in the Mashriq subregion, down to 374 [m.sup.3] in the GCC subregion. Of this available water, the agriculture sector consumes about 88 per cent, while domestic and industrial consumptions are 7 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

The challenge of providing clean drinking water to the population of the region is not just one of supply, but also of quality, with water pollution posing a major threat, in many cases rendering the already scarce water resources unusable. Chronic water scarcity is therefore a major challenge facing the Arab region. This has forced many countries--in their efforts to provide their populations, as well as the agricultural and industrial sectors, with water--to resort to alternative water resources, including the exploitation of fossil groundwater, waste-water reuse and the desalination of seawater--options that involve high cost and adverse impacts on environment and water-resource sustainability.

Water pricing in the region remains at very low rates, which fail to reflect the real economic value of the scarce water resources, and has led to wasteful practices and no real incentives to conserve water. In the majority of the Arab countries, financing for desalination plants has mainly been provided from State budgets and partly from foreign loans. However, with the changing strategies for development during the last two decades and reduced government funding, dependence on external funds has increased, with the Arab States recently turning to the private sector for additional funding.

Access to clean...