AFED Announces its Annual Conference on 4-5 November 2010 in Beirut
Water: Sustainable Management of a Scarce Resource
Beirut, 4 March 2010
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) announced that its Annual Conference will convene in Beirut on 4-5 November 2010. The conference will debate a comprehensive report on water, being prepared by AFED experts. The report, highlighting the need for more sustainable management of a scarce resource, is the third in a State of Arab Environment series published by AFED. It follows the publication of two reports, Arab Environment: Future Challenges in 2008 and Impact of Climate Change on Arab Countries in 2009, which were highly acclaimed.
AFED’s Secretary General Najib Saab explained that, “Policy recommendations will be prominent throughout the report, leading to reforms necessary to develop a sustainable water sector in the Arab region.” Describing the water dilemma in Arab countries, Saab said that “Per capita share of water is declining due to swift increase in population, major water sources are from outside Arab borders or shared, and most available water resources are already developed,” adding that “needs exceed availability, which requires rational use of available sources in all sectors and developing new sources, such as desalination and rain harvesting.”
Edited by Dr. Mohamed El-Ashry, former chief of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the AFED water report will be a joint effort of leading experts and research centers across the region and beyond.
AFED Annual conference has become the major environmental gathering in the Middle East, due to the timely themes discussed and the wide spectrum of participants, representing major players from the private and public sectors, along with civil society, academia and media.
For information contact AFED Secretariat: info@afedonline.org
Tel: +961 1 321 800
Fax: +961 1 321 900
2010 Report of the Arab Forum of Environment and Development (AFED)
ARAB ENVIRONMENT: Water
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) is commissioning a report on the subject of water in Arab countries, highlighting the need for more sustainable management of a scarce resource. Water in Arab Countries is the third annual report by AFED, and follows the publication of two reports, Arab Environment: Future Challenges in 2008 and Impact of Climate Change on Arab Countries in 2009.
The report is designed to contribute to the discourse on the sustainable management of water resources in the Arab world. The treatment of the subject is both broad and multidisciplinary, thus providing critical understanding without being overly technical or academic in nature. The goal of commissioning this report is to make the case for water reforms in Arab countries. Ultimately, we hope it will spur determined action for sustainable water policies.
The report will state availability and needs, taking foremost facts into account:
– Per capita share of water is declining due to increase in population
– Major water sources are from outside Arab borders or shared
– Most available water resources are already developed
Needs exceed availability, which requires:
– Rational use of available sources in all sectors, municipal including drinking water, agriculture and industry
– Developing new sources, such as desalination and rain harvesting.
The unifying theme is presenting REFORMS in policies and management to develop a sustainable water sector in Arab countries. Thus policy recommendations will be prominent throughout the report. Case studies, with stories of successes and failures, are to be highlighted whenever possible to disseminate learning. Each chapter is to present practical recommendations
Despite investments in Arab water infrastructure, the benefits of a sustainable, secure, and equitable management of water resources continue to elude the region with serious ramifications on public health and economic well-being. The first chapter in the report sets the context for the report by laying down for readers why these benefits have been slow to come by and what challenges need to be addressed to attain water sustainability in the region.
The rest of the report is dedicated to describing reforms in water policies, management, laws, practices, and institutions. Each chapter will address a reform topic, highlighting why reforms are needed, what the reforms will look like, and what the intended outcomes of the reforms should be ideally. We address integrated water resource management, climate change adaptation, water demand management, water governance, and water reuse, among other topics as delineated below in the outline.
We hope this report will contribute to the ongoing dialogue on the future of water in Arab countries and catalyze institutional reforms. If this report can inform and help shape public policy for sustainable water management in the Arab world, then it would have served its purpose.
http://www.afedonline.org/en/inner.aspx?contentID=484