Middle East & North Africa

EGYPT - SUDAN - SOUTH SUDAN: A revolution in Egypt, and the splitting of Sudan into two independent states in the north and in the south, gives the Nile basin a new and untested hydro-political balance that is yet to stabilise and take form. What are the different scenarios for the future of cooperation along the Nile? How will the different interests play in South Sudan, as the new nation braces itself for agricultural export riches, and attractive offers from north and south riparian countries alike to join either bloc in negotiating Nile water allocation agreements? How will the current developments in Egypt affect its Nile basin relations?

GULF REGION: The world's largest desalination projects are taking place in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Bahrain, to cater for the fast economic growth of these countries. The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran have 120 desalination plants between them. These plants use huge amounts of energy, and flush nearly 24 tons of chlorine, 65 tons of algae-harming antiscalants used to descale pipes, and around 300 kg of copper into the Persian Gulf every day. Is desalination the most appropriate solution to providing waters in these countries? What are the other potential, environmentally-friendly solutions? And what role could cooperation within a regional water-energy nexus play, to provide enough water and energy for the development needs of this fast growing region?

ARAB COUNTRIES: The MENA region is one of the driest regions in the world, and it has all of its larger water resources shared with countries outside the region, and between the region's countries themselves. The water situation in these countries could be improved significantly if there was better data exchange and institutional research. According to studies, spending on scientific studies in the Arab World does not exceed one per cent of the region's total GDP. The good representation from the region at the World Water Week reflects an interest to improve knowledge on water issues and international frameworks for cooperation, however, a question that poses itself to these participants is: what are the obstacles and opportunities for improving knowledge sharing and research on water issues within the region?

The biblical "Great Sea", is no doubt the world's most ancient route between civilizations, and continues to play a significant role in world transport, and in the economies of European, Asian and African countries surrounding it. This has its toll on the quality of this nearly landlocked sea's waters. The sea is especially sensitive to climatic variations, which are well documented in its sedimentary record. Extremely high pollution, overfishing, invasive species are just three among many serious problems affecting the quality of its waters. Financial crunches in South Europe, Revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East, and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflicts have succeeded to hampering cooperation between countries surrounding the Sea. What action is required to help save the world's "oldest sea"?

ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Although they are not known for cooperating, there is one thing which the Palestinians and Israelis have to share: their water. Both depend on ground water which originates underneath the West Bank and flows into Israel. Today, there are mechanisms in place for how the Israelis and Palestinians cooperate around their shared water resources. Do they work?