To The IWMI Management Team (proposed approach to developing an expanded IWMI water research program for the MENA sub-region)
Renewable water resources availability in the MENA region is declining to an absolute level. Therefore, water in the MENA region has attracted much attention from policymakers and international agencies such as the World Bank (see e.g. World Bank, 2007), UNDP (see. Arab Human Development Report for 2009, UNDP, 2009) and The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) commissioned a special report on water in the member countries to mark its 30th anniversary (IDB, 2005). It is noted that water policies in the region have allowed for unrestricted use of scarce water resources and characterised by low water tariffs and high subsidies, weak demand management policies and high budgetary burden which have it difficult to raise financial resources to meet the growing demand driven by high population growth. Water reforms in the region are driven by the intensifying competition among domestic, agricultural, industrial, and environmental uses.Therefore, addressing the water scarcity challenge will be central to successfully achieving sustainable economic growth.
Water scarcity in the MENA region is characterized by dynamic socio-economic and political, climatic, technological and resource availability. Water resources management policies and institutions at a national level show mixed effectiveness. Successful implementation of legislative require significant investments in capacity development, particularly creation and strengthening of policy-focused institutions. Water resources management policies at regional scale are non-existent. No effective supranational framework exists today that would tackle issues at regional or sub-regional scale and provide substantive inputs. Lack of regional policies to deal with water resources, in the face of increasing stresses, could open the door to water insecurity.
''' The consequences of the lack of water security could include a direct threat to food and energy security;
''' Food production, as the largest fraction of water consumption in the MENA region, which represents up to78% of water usage in the region, would be directly impacted as water availability further reduces;
The MENA region Multilevel Water Scarcity calls for the need for A Science-Water Policy Interface. There is a need for an interface to link scientific knowledge systems and policy making decisions. A mechanism of framework to link to systems; be able to exchange, and use or process the information. MENA region water scarcity multilevel includes:
''' Governance level: lack of transparency in decision-making
''' Organizational capacity level: inability of organizations to effectively manage water resources
''' Physical resource level (water shortage, water stress conditions, temporal and seasonal variation, and water quality and pollution issues).
''' 60 % of the region water resources is considered transboundary waters, shared surface and groundwater between two nations or more.
''' Heavy dependency on groundwater resources.
In order to enhance the water policymaking process in the MENA region, a science'''water policy interface is needed. Single water policy cannot deal effectively with the multilevel water scarcity issues and hence there is a need for integrated enabling assessment tools to achieve adequate policy decision outcomes i.e linking scientific and technical evidences with policymaking appraisal tools. This process is required to harmonize scientific evidences in policymaking decision. This can be achieved by linking socio-political and technical assessment frameworks by using different theories and frameworks to form a single conceptual framework
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH (Road map for IWMI Research in the MENA Region)
First, we need to consider the meaning of the framework and differentiate it from theory and model. Secondly, there is a need to appreciate the implications (and advantages) of the use of different theories and frameworks to form a single conceptual framework. Some might criticize this approach of combining various theoretical frameworks in a single conceptual methodological framework to be '''an internally contradictory and messy approach, with a limited explanatory capacity'''. However, we need to appreciate that these frameworks are non-mutually exclusive and there are interfaces or points of contacts between them; hence they can be conceptually linked to each other.
Figure 1: integrated methodological approach to attain science-water policy interface
Another key issue is water re- allocation policies that have to cater for the grave challenges faced by the water sector. A new water management paradigm based on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and coordinated with land-use policies may be adopted to regulate unwanted growth in demands in already crowded urban centres. Structural approaches should be blended with non-structural options to deal with multidimensional and interdisciplinary challenges including:
''' Capacity development program to train a new breed of managers whom are better able to address a different host of challenges from season to season, such as better management of drought and scarce seasonal supplies, flood control, deteriorating water quality, conflicts over shared water resources and so on. Thus, public water institutions should attract managers who can design, implement, and monitor strategic water plans.
''' Water allocation or reallocation policy
''' Introducing new pricing policies
''' Drafting new rules and regulations and new governance system to address groundwater abstractions
''' Pollution control and water conservation measures
''' Strengthening Water governance in MENA region building partnerships with beneficiaries and the private sector as well as local communities (decentralisation and privatisation and empowering water users);
''' Reorientation of organisational and institutional structures by enhancing the role of ethics and non-structural measures and moving away from building more centralised large scale infrastructure to establishing locally managed sustainable and pro-poor initiatives
''' Considering social and environmental impacts of water sector development plans i.e. to assess the impact of new policies on environmental protection, pollution reduction, and natural habitat and biodiversity restoration in areas affected by the construction of water projects
''' Ensuring participation of communities in the new water governance system
IWMI, in order to tackle these challenges I see three water research themes focused towards applied results. These are: water governance, technologies, and information systems. IWMI need to coordinate with the regional research initiatives such as FAO water scarcity regional initiative, regional research institutions, such as the Bio-saline research center, MEDREC, and other national research centers mentioned below. Based on the above description of the main research themes, the challenges and opportunities for research cooperation in the MENA region can be highlighted in figure 2.0 below:
Fig. 2: Water research priority areas in the MENA region.
The objectives of the research priorities under water technologies is to address water scarcity of available water resources use efficiency and water productivity (crop per drop) and to address the obstacle to utilize unconventional resources. The technological aspect is necessary to emphasis the applied dimension of the research. This also should include management and protocols of practice. This research theme should include socio-economic studies, applicability, and capacity development.
Water governance in the MENA region is best described as centralized and shared among many government authorities. Currently, no clear responsibilities among water authorities and most important coordination among these authorities is weak and most of the time competing among themselves. It is therefore, important to address the water governance to promote decentralization of the water management, to emphasis IWRM concept, stakeholder'''s participation, gender involvement, and to promote environmentally sustainable water governance based on clear governance performance indicators. Another important research is the water for food security as there is an explicit linkage between land and water resources. Much of the water resources is consumed by the agricultural sector and hence agricultural policy has a direct bearing on the water governance.
Water information system is an important component of water management. Often the in MENA region, this important component is either neglected or miss managed. Data scarcity, or accuracy is the norm in the region. The objective of this research component is to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for inter-country sharing of experiences, build capacity among all stakeholders, and strengthen information networks and knowledge-management systems. This should to help, for example, policy makers and development practitioners build climate resilience and also to reach informative decision making.
Existing Challenges can be IWMI Opportunities:
Collaborative research in the region is often none existent. Collaborative research at regional level often initiated by international research bodies and or by outside funding agencies. Building regional collaborative research networks is an opportunity that IWMI can mobilize through both regional and international funding sources. Outside funding organization active in the MENA region water sector such as World Bank, GIZ, SIDA, USAID, and EU are potential funding sources on regional scale. However, there are number of regional organizations such as ARABFUND, Qatar Foundation, Islamic Development Bank, and African Development Bank. The key is to have strong research proposal with defined outcomes and measurable results to start, and to have built partnerships with key research centers in the region. For example, in Qatar there are number of key research centers such as the newly established Doha Institute, Global dry land alliance, and Qatar Foundation affiliates centers such as Center for Energy, Water and Environment. In Kuwait, there are Kuwait Institute for Scientific research (KISR), and Kuwait foundation for advancement of science. In the Emirates, there are also number of potential donors/partners such as Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, MASDAR Institute, Mohamad Bin Rashid Foundation, and Khalifa Foundation. In Saudi Arabia, there are also potential partners like King Abdallah University for Science and technology (KAUST), King Abdulaziz city for science, ARAMCO, and local universities research centers. In Oman, beside Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR) of Sultan Qaboos University, There is the National Field Research Centre for Environmental Conservation
On the Euro-Meditation scale there is Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EUROMED) that promote regional research on water, energy among other research fields. The later represents plate form for building networks and research partnerships in the region.
In conclusion, to secure tangible research outcomes, strong national and regional partners with academic excellence researchers is necessary.
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