Water for Peace - Role of Programming in Dealing with Water Insecurity and Fragility Issues

The Middle East and North Africa region has always coped with water scarcity. The world’s oldest civilizations have managed to develop and prosper in its arid landscapes. Today the region is at a crossroads. Conflict is taking a severe human and economic toll, fueling massive displacements of populations. What water remains available is dwindling, under pressure from rapid population growth and urbanization combined with climate change. Existing water management systems, already plagued by weak governance, limited resources, and degraded infrastructure, are now failing when they are needed the most.The resilience of people and communities across the region is being tested in unprecedented ways. It is an unfortunate fact that many of the most fragile contexts in the region are also those with the greatest water-related challenges. People caught in conflict, youth and smallholder farmers in particular, are least able to cope with the impact of water shortages and other water-related disruptions-World Bank.

Water crises as a push factor for forced displacement. About 2.5 billion people (36% of the world’s population) live in water-scarce regions and more than 20% of global GDP is produced here. A recent report by the International Food Policy Research Institute projected that 4.8 billion people—more than half the world’s population—and about half of global grain production will be at risk due to water stress by 2050.1Increased rainfall variability is already responsible for a considerable net loss of food production every year—enough to feed 81 million people every day. Many of the affected regions overlap with areas that are already facing large food deficits and are classified as fragile, heightening the urgency of finding and implementing solutions.2The world is already witnessing some of the largest flows of forced displacement since the Second World War. Water crises are being highlighted by the World Economic Forum in their 2016 Global Risks Report as the risk of highest concern for the coming decade. This tendency is likely to strengthen in the years to come.Intense water scarcity may displace large numbers of people by 2030.3 By 2050 desertification alone threatens the live-lihoods of nearly one billion people in around 100 countries. Furthermore, the rapid influx of people in large numbers may over-burden the water resources and sanitation infrastructure and the ability of the supply systems to cope. It may put severe financial burden on impacted countries.The most vulnerable regions are those where the ability and the institutional capacities to cope with climate change, water variability and conflict resolution capability are overstretched. Countries in these regions include those affected by broad desertification, small-island developing states, those exposed to water-related effects of climate change, and countries in crisis zones facing water scarcity, as well as those hosting large number of displaced persons relative to their initial population. They may need increased international cooperation, including adequate risk assessment and management solutions to address the water-related root causes and pursue early preventive actions.

Very interesting!

Excellent series!

mantap

Thanks

Water for Peace - Role of Programming in Dealing with Water Insecurity and Fragility issues