Annual Meetings to issue 'call for action' to fight water wastage in MENA region

The issue will be discussed on September 21st, the second day of the Programme of Seminars in a post-lunch session. The seminar will be entitled 'Water: From Scarcity to Security'. It has been organised by the Middle East and North Africa Region desk at the World Bank Group.

'The Middle East and North Africa region is the driest in the world,' says the World Bank Group in its introduction to the seminar, to which the Islamic Development Bank is contributing as a co-host .

'Water is a major issue in the Arab world. It is of vital importance to all who live here. We spend billions every year on desalinating water, but even then we fall far short of what we need. This is going to be a highly educative and interesting session where we will have the world's best experts to find solutions to lead our region from scarcity to security,' said Ahmed Al Banna, Assistant General Coordinator of Dubai 2003, the local hosts.

Al Banna said statistics are harsh. The MENA region is home to about 5 per cent of the world's population. They, however, have access to only 1 per cent of the globe's accessible freshwater.

The gap between the water haves and have-nots is vast. The World Bank Group estimates that current available water resources in MENA are so low that, on average, each person living in the region has access to only one-sixth of the water that is available to people under the global average.

The world's bank said that about 45 million people in the MENA region lack access to safe drinking water, and almost double that number - or 80 million people in the region - lack access to safe sanitation.

Despite this critical shortage of palatable and safe water for drinking and sanitation purposes, there is tremendous amount of wastage and overindulgence. Here too, the differentials between the MENA region and the rest of the world are wide, Al Banna said.

While the region suffers from water scarcity, its level of efficiency in using water is so poor that it cannot account, on an average, for half the water in urban areas. The situation is even worse when it comes to surface irrigation - only 40 per cent of the water reaches the crops.

The World Bank Group says the session will provide an overview of the 'Resource, its Use and Misuse' in the MENA region.

The three main issues that will be addressed during the seminar will be:


• Managing water scarcity

• Public-private partnerships for urban water supply

• Managing the allocation of water - the implications for trade.

The session will conclude with a 'Call for Action' for more substantial reforms that can deliver practical help and solutions in the region.

The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund's Programme of Seminars is open to corporates and experts from within the Arab world and outside. It is advised that prospective attendees register online [www.dubai2003.com] to avoid delays of up to 24-hours that can happen with on-site registrations.

The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund were first held in Washington DC in 1946. They are hosted by an international city one year in three. The UAE and Dubai were selected because of their highly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure, growing importance as a financial hub and its established position as an oasis of opportunity.