Beyond Scarcity: Water Security in The Middle East and North Africa

This report is the outcome of multiple studies and consultations carried out and commissioned by the World Bank. The work was led by Claudia Sadoff and Edoardo Borgomeo, with Anders Jägerskog, Dambudzo Muzenda, Sandy Ruckstuhl, and colleagues across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Water Practice, and Regional and Country Management Units. Support and guidance was provided by Steven Schonberger (MENA Water Practice Manager), Franck Bousquet (MENA Regional Programs and Partnerships Director), Guangzhe Chen (Senior Director, Global Water Practice), and Shanta Devarajan (Senior Director, Development Economics). World Bank colleagues who contributed to the report include Richard Abdulnour, Naif Abu-Lohom, Abdulhamid Azad, Daniel Camos Daurella, Stephane Dahane, Mouhamed Fadel Ndaw, Adnan Ghosheh, Osama Hamad, Gabriella Izzi, Philippe Marin, Alex McPhail, Yogita Mumssen, Francois Onimus, Iyad Rammal, Amal Talbi, Maheen Zehra, and Sally Zgheib. The team also wishes to express its sincere appreciation for inputs provided by the Program Leaders for Sustainable Development in the region: Suhail Jme’An, Ashish Khanna, Andrea Liverani, Bjorn Philipp, and Maria Vagliasindi. A World Resources Institute team comprising Betsy Otto, Charlie Iceland, Tianyi Luo, and Rutger Hofste contributed a background paper on water stress and water demand in the region. Rens van Beek of Utrecht University authored a background paper on sustainable water use in the region. This report also draws on a commissioned geospatial analysis performed by Deltares (Sheila Ball, Marta Faneca Sanchez, and Marijn Kuijper) to estimate groundwater stress and exposure in the MENA region. Dr. Jarrah AlZubi and Ali Karnib are thanked for providing insightful recommendations on the MDG+ datasets.