The Arab Region

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The Arab Region
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Arab Maghreb Union
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Middle East
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MENA Region
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Mediterranean region
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Union for the Mediterranean
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• The Arab world stretches from the Atlantic coast
  of northern Africa in the west to the Arabian Sea
  in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in
  the north to Central Africa in the south,
  covering an area of 14.2 million square
  kilometers.

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Challenges

• Escalating poverty
• Limited natural resources
• Limited access to technology
• Limited experience of civil society participation
  in planning

• Rapid population growth
• The need to diversify the economic base
• Social inequity
• The need to properly manage resources
• Lack of peace and security in the region

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(ARAB ENVIRONMENT FUTURE CHALLENGES)
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• During the last 55 years, the Arab population has
  increased from around 72 million in 1950 to about
  300 million in 2005,
• About 5 of the total world population.

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Densities in selected Arab countries, inhabitants
per sq. km., 2007 (Source World Bank 2007)
Ex. Dense populations in Gazas refugee camps
contributed to aquifer depletion, which resulted
in saltwater intrusion and saline water
unsuitable for irrigation
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Water Resources
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Water resources in the Arab region
Present situation

• -The region is one of the most arid areas in the
  world.
• -About 95 of the area is considered as arid or
  semi arid which receive less than 200mm of
  rainfall per year .
• -Frequent drought events places stress on
  available water resources and negatively
  impacting the sustainable development.
• -Another major challenge facing the region is the
  issue of shared water resources between countries
  within the region and with countries outside the
  region borders
• (about 60 of surface water resources originate
  from outside).

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Rainfall Distribution in The Arab Region
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Estimated average annual available water per
capita in the Arab countries was 977 cubic meters
in 2001, and will decrease to 460 cubic meters in
the year 2023. (Tolba et al ). (ARAB
ENVIRONMENT FUTURE CHALLENGES)
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Natural water Resources in the Arab
Region Surface water 210 billion cm.

Groundwater 36Billion cm Total
246billion cm.
Water Supply
Water Use
Surface Water 81
Surface Water 81
Agriculture 88
Groundwater

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Sewage water
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1 Desalination
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Agricultural Drainage
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Thirsty cities Many cities and capitals in the
Arab region facing shortage in drinking water
supply ,Damascus , Amman
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Gaps

• Defining a new water policy ( demand management )
• Absence of population growth policy
• Lack of data ,information and coordination
• Involvement of private sector is very limited .
• Lack of final agreement on shared water
• The economic value of water is neglected
• More research is needed in reusing treated water
  and water desalination.
• Lack of research studies regarding climate change
  mitigation and adaptation
• Lack of education and awareness regarding water
  issue
• National water institutions need to be reformed
  and upgraded.

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Main findings and messages

• The heart of the water management challenge in
  the Arab region is to reduce water consumption to
  a level consistent with long-term availability
  and sustainable environmental management, and to
  distribute it fairly and efficiently, so as not
  to suppress economic growth.
• The approach of securing supply is reaching its
  physical and financial limits and that a switch
  toward water management is needed.
• A series of technical and policy changes to the
  water sector in most region countries is needed
  if the countries look to accelerate their
  progress and avoid the economic and social
  hardships that might otherwise occur.
• To avoid future conflicts, there is an urgent
  needs to finalize the agreements between riparian
  countries regarding shared water resources ( in
  and outside the Arab region).

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Land Resources
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Land Resources
Environmental and physical setting -The total
area of the Arab region is 14.2 million km2, 90
is dry land. - The total population doubled (317
million) over the last 25 years, and per
capita area dropped by half (to 4 ha). - The
dominating ecosystem is harsh, fragile and
easily degradable.    
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Resources/E.P. Settings
-The dominating soils are loose, shallow, have
low fertility, and have developed on a calcium
carbonate base prone to degradation. -The
climate is erratic for long periods within
between seasons, and includes short intervals
of severe droughts. - Areas under Hyper- arid
to Semi-arid climates are the most vulnerable
to degradation.
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-Range lands increased from 22 in 1980 to 34
in 2005. -Forests decreased from 9.5 in 1980
to 6 in 2005.
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• -Inappropriate production systems in farmland,
• rangeland, forests, and deserts to provide
  the
• increasing demand for commodities due to
• Increasing population
• Unsustainable consumption patterns
• Centralized governance and single oriented
• approach.

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Land Resources/L. Deg. Des.

• -Forms of degradation
• Soil salinization affects 42 of arable land,
• Wind erosion affects 33 of total land,
• Water erosion affects 14,
• Water logging affects 7,
• Fertility degradation with pollution affects
  4,
• Sand encroachments drives desert 20-80 m/y.

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Progress towards MDG target on food security
Source Dilley and others 2005
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Salinity induced by irrigation in the Euphrates
basin in Syria. Credit Mussaddak Janat, Atomic
Energy Commission of Syria
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Pressures on Land Resources -Wars and
conflicts Several areas of the Arab region face
conflict including Darfur-Sudan the Palestinian
Territories, Lebanon and Iraq. Algeria and
Somalia are also subject to internal conflicts.
Pollution, Human pressures by Refugees,
Destruction of Agricultural Land, Land mines,
disruption of health services, deepened poverty,
destroyed institutions and the inability to
enforce environmental legislation

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• World Bank Hot Spot Study (2005) on global
  natural disaster risk found that 6 Arab countries
  are at high risk to natural hazards. (least 30
  of the GDP and/or 30 of the population are at
  very high risk facing natural hazards)
• These 6 countries in order of risk are
  Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Djibouti, Morocco and
  Lebanon (Luna, ISDR)

Natural Hazards
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Number of total affected population and total
damage due to disasters triggered by natural
hazards 1980-2008
Disaster Type Droughts Earth-quakes Floods Storms (totals)
Total Affected 28,199,657 1,342,296 7,404,613 252,074 37,198,640
Economic Loss )in 1000 USD) 900,000 11,862,929 2,889,336 4,149,854 19,802,119
Data cover Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania,
Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Syria,Tunisia
and Yemen. Source EM-DAT The OFDA/CRED
International Disaster Database, Université
Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium,
www.emdat.be
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(Arab Environment Future Challenges Report)
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Land Resources/L. Deg. Des.
-Valuation of land degradation cost

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Coastal and Marine Resources
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54 million people of which are from the 7
Mediterranean Arab countries (2000). 17 million
are tourists visiting the Arab countries of the
region (Benoit Comeau, 2005). (Arab
Environment Future Challenges Report)
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Population Living in Coastal Areas
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Coastal Tourism
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Egypt
Morocco
Tunisia
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Fish Exports (1000 USD)
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Climate Change

• According to (IPCC 2007) report, projected
  annual average ranges of precipitation tend
  toward decrease in the Mediterranean region and
  northern of the Arab peninsula by 10 to 20 .

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• Egypts population would be most severely
  impacted by SLR With a 1m SLR, approximately 10
  of Egypts population would be impacted.
• Egypts GDP would also be significantly impacted
  by SLR. This is partly explained by the impact of
  SLR on the Egypts agricultural extent.
• Approximately 5 of the population of United Arab
  Emirates and Tunisia would be impacted by a 1m
  SLR.

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Potential impacts of sea level rise on the Nile
Delta include a decline in water quality. This
graph shows the Nile Delta region in 2002, the
area as it would appear with a 0.5 m and 1.0 m
sea level rise. Source UNEP 2002
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• Air Quality

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• In the region, the main reasons for Air quality
  deterioration is both anthropogenic (urban
  growth, industrialization, energy production and
  transportation), and natural (dust and sand
  storms).

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Global distribution of sulphur levels in diesel
fuel in 2007
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Poverty
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Source UN-ESCWA and LAS 2007
The proportion of the population living below the
national poverty lines fell from 19.6
(1990-1995) to 18.2 in (2000 2004)
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Trends in per capita GDP annual growth rate

• West Asias high dependency on natural resources
  has made it very vulnerable to economic shocks
  and fluctuations in international prices, with
  profound repercussions on growth, employment and
  economic stability, as well as on the environment.

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Population below income national poverty line
(), 1990-2002
Source UNDP 2005
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Source WRI 2007, compiled from UNDP 2006
Human Poverty Index for selected Arab countries,
2006, (per cent)
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Government effectiveness (2005)

• quality of public and civil services
• policy formulation and implementation,
• degree of independence from political pressures
• credibility of government commitment.

Source World Bank 2006
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Issues

• Displaced Population

Displaced Persons Asylum-seekers by country of
origin
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Source WRI 2007, compiled from Norwegian Refugee
Council 2006.
Displaced Persons Internally displaced persons,
total number, 2006
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Country Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP Expenditure as a per cent of GDP
Military Military Military Education Education Health Health
2000 2005 2000 2005 2000 2004
Algeria 3.4 2.8 .. .. 2.6 2.6
Bahrain 4.0 .. .. .. 2.7 2.7
Djibouti 4.1 .. .. 7.9 4.7 4.4
Egypt 2.7 2.8 .. .. 2.3 2.2
Jordan 8.9 7.7 .. .. 4.4 4.7
Kuwait 7.1 5.7 .. 5.1 2.4 2.2
Lebanon 5.2 .. 2.0 2.6 3.1 3.2
Libya 3.1 .. .. .. 2.2 2.8
Mauritania 1.6 1.0 .. 2.3 2.0 2.0
Morocco 4.1 4.3 6.4 6.7 1.5 1.7
Oman 10.6 .. 3.1 3.6 2.5 2.4
Saudi Arabia 10.6 8.2 5.9 .. .. 2.5
Sudan 4.7 .. .. .. 0.8 1.5
Syria 5.4 .. .. .. 2.0 2.2
Tunisia 1.7 1.5 6.8 .. 2.9 ..
UAE 3.4 1.9 2.0 1.3 2.4 2.0
Yemen 5.0 5.6 9.9 .. 1.9 1.9
Source WRI 2007 based on World Bank 2007
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• Future Trends

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Main finding and messages

• Occupation, terrorism and internal violence are
  responsible for instability and widespread of
  poverty.
• These forms of conflicts are also associated with
  compulsory migration and internally displaced
  persons.
• The impacts of climate change might lead to more
  conflicts over limited natural resources and
  leading to more flow of refugees.

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Main finding and messages

• To reduce the probability of conflicts
• Alleviating poverty is a must and should tackle
  environmental, social and economic
  transformations by improving access to food,
  shelter and other natural and financial
  resources and infrastructure and social
  services.
• Adopting elements of good governance in
  day-to-day decision-making like a) participation,
  b) transparency, c) accountability, d) consensus
  building, e) rule of law, f) inclusiveness,
  g) responsiveness, and h) efficient and
  effectiveness.

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Main finding and messages

• Health and education are two of the main pillars
  of human capital formation to reduce the risk of
  social instability.
• Investing in science and technology can make up
  for the lack of natural resources in the region.
  This investment requires the proper management of
  resources, which should make sustainable
  development an overarching priority.

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Main finding and messages

• Enabling and empowering marginalized populations,
  such as women and youth, through adopting
  mechanisms for the just, equitable and fair
  distribution of wealth and access to
  decision-making processes have positive economic,
  social and environmental impacts.
• Improving the educational system, quality of life
  of citizens can contribute to improved
  environmental management and thus enhance the
  resilience of local communities, improve the
  acceptance of other cultures, reduce
  fundamentalism and minimise the probability of
  domestic and cross border conflicts.