R. Klingbeil, 2013: Water Resources Challenges in the Middle East.

Water Resources Challenges
in the Middle East
TU Berlin, Germany
27 June 2013
Ralf Klingbeil
Regional Advisor Environment & Water

Lebanon - ‫لبنان‬
1 July 2013 www.escwa.un.org 2

Lebanon - ‫لبنان‬
http://ilndation-elaof.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-bucket-margarita.html 2, 2009

Opening Quotes
• “Arabs are already in the heart of the water
catastrophe.”
• “Any delay in a serious response to the water
challenge corresponds to mass suicide.
The water apocalypse is knocking on Arab
doors, right now.”
Najib Saab, SG AFED, 12 June 2010

Iraq – Displacement due to Drought
IOM, July 2010

Iraq – Water Needs 2008 - 2010
IOM, July 2010

Outline
• UN-ESCWA
UN Regional Commission
• Regional Water Overview:
The Many Dimensions of Water
– Water Availability and Demand
– Solutions to a Dilemma?
– Water and Food, Virtual Water, Food Imports
– Transboundary Water and Transboundary Aquifers
– Climate Change
• What remains to be said.
Hope?

ECE
1947
ESCWA
1973
ESCAP
1947
ECA
1958
ECLAC
1948
UN ESCWA and the
Regional Dimension in the UN

UN ESCWA

Sustainable Development and
Productivity Division
Implementation
Approach
Regional Convening
Power for
Intergovernmental
Mechanisms
Informing Regional
Processes for
Global Negotiations
and National Action
Partnerships
Productive
Sectors Section
Green Economy
Food Security
Sustainable
Development
Goals
Energy
Section
Energy
Efficiency
Renewable
Energy
Energy
Security
Water
Resources
Section
Shared Water
Resources
Climate Change
Adaptation
MDGs
Integrated Water
Resources
Management
Support to Intergovernmental Mechanisms
ESCWA Committees (Water/Energy); LAS Councils: CAMRE (JCEDAR), AMWC, AMCE

Water Resources Section
Implementation
Approach
Regional
Convening
Power for
Intergovernmen
tal Mechanisms
Informing
Regional
Processes for
Global
Negotiations and
National Action
Partnerships
Shared
Water
Resources
Legal
Framework for
Shared Waters
in Arab Region
Inventory of
Shared Water
Resources in
Western Asia
Shared Water
Monitoring
Pilot Project
ESCWA-BGR
Cooperation,
LAS, AMWC
Climate
Change
Adaptation
RICCAR
(Assessment)
ACCWaM
(Adaptation)
UNDA
Projects (2)
(Capacity Building)
RCM/TWG-CC,
UN & LAS Orgs,
Working Groups,
SIDA, GIZ, AMWC,
CAMRE, Met Offices
MDGs
MDG+
Initiative
ACWUA
(Board Member)
SDGs /
Post-2015
Agenda
AMWC, ACWUA,
WHO, CEDARE,
RAED, AWC,
Stats, UN-Water
Integrated
Water
Resources
Management
Arab Strategies
and
Action Plans
AWARENET
Network
Water-Energy-
Food Nexus
(RB/DA)
Inter-Sectional
Inter-Divisional
Inter-Agency
Program Mandated by
ESCWA Committee on Water Resources & Arab Ministerial Water Council

Water - Challenges
• Status and Trends
• Availability vs. Use and Demand
• Renewable vs. Non-Renewable
• Population Growth and Agriculture
• Pollution – Reduction of Available Resources
• Virtual Water
• Water Imports and Transfers
• Desalination
• Transboundary Water and Aquifers
• ... and Climate Change

MENA - Water - Challenges
Governance
Demographics
Food
Water
& Land
(Energy)

Regional Water Overview
Water Availability and Demand

Actual Renewable Freshwater Resources
per Capita. by Region
FAO AQUASTST, WB 2007

Percent of Total Renewable Water
Resources Withdrawn, by Region
FAO AQUASTAT data 1998-2002, WB 2007

Rainfall Distribution in the Arab Region
ESCWA, 2009

Total Renewable Water per Person
in ESCWA Region
ESCWA, 2009
Water Stress
Water Scarcity
Extreme Water Scarcity

Total Actual Renewable Water
Resources per Capita in MENA
FAO AQUASTAT, WB 2007
Water Stress
Water Scarcity
Extreme Water Scarcity

Arab Countries’ Water Availability and Use
www.carboun.com, 2011

High Rate of Population Growth
ICBA, Barghouti, 2009

High Rate of Population Growth
in ESCWA Region
ESCWA, 2009

Solutions to a Dilemma?

Solutions?
Efficiency, Reuse, Storage, Protection
• Increase water efficiency and conservation
• Reuse of all forms of water and (treated)
waste water
• Increase smart storage options:
Managed Aquifer Recharge
• Resources Protection

Solutions? – Efficiency
• Leakage detection for water supplies

Solutions? – Reuse
• Reuse: water and (treated) waste water
AlBaz, GIZ, 2011

Solutions? – Storage
• Storage: Managed Aquifer Storage
UNESCO, 2005

Jordan:
MAR - Infiltration of Floodwater
• 2012: Cooperation MWI/JOR – BGR/BMZ/GER
– Guideline for Assessment and
Implementation of Managed Aquifer
Recharge (MAR) in (Semi-)Arid Regions
– Pre-Feasibility Study for Infiltration of
Floodwater in Amman-Zarqa and Azraq
Basins
• MAR potential map for water availability &
site suitability for two surface water basins
• Limitations:
– Source water availability in regions with
rainfall of less than 200 mm/a
– High sediment load of runoff waters
• Operation and maintenance
• Monitoring
• Assess actual effectiveness
• Increase involvement of local communities Steinel, 2012
July 1, 2013 www.escwa.un.org 28

Oman:
Groundwater Recharge Dams
• > 30 groundwater recharge dams, intercepting
wadi runoff, allowing for controlled recharge
downstream of dam
• Managed to hold about 1064 MCM of flood waters
until end of 2009
• Substantial experiences in siting and
dimensioning of groundwater recharge dams
July 1, 2013 www.escwa.un.org 29

Lebanon

Resources Management and Protection
www.escwa.un.org 311 July 2013
partly from Margane, BGR, 2013

Resources Management and Protection
• Tectonic setting
• Geological mapping
• Tracer tests
• Stable isotopes
Margane, BGR, 2013

Water and Food, Virtual Water,
Food Imports

Water and Food
Morelli, 2012: www.angelamorelli.com/water

Food Security
• Food security vs. food self-sufficiency.
• Food security vs. internal agricultural production.
• Food security and non-renewable groundwater
resources.
• A recent World Bank study on water
economics in the Middle East and North
Africa estimates that groundwater resources
depletion has substantially reduced GDP in
some countries, by 2.1% in Jordan, 1.5% in
Yemen, 1.3% in Egypt, and 1.2% in Tunis.
• Food security and virtual water - implications for:
• Trade
• Rural development, including women & youth
• Foreign revenue reserves
• Sustainability
Water and Food

Agricultural Water Use
e.g. Wadi Al-Sirhan, Saudi Arabia
1991
2000
2012

Irrigated Agriculture in Saudi Arabia
FAO AQUASTAT, 2008

Irrigated Agriculture in Saudi Arabia
Accumulated 30 year groundwater abstraction, 1975 - 2004 per
Region for KSA (WaterWatch, 2006)

Sustainability and
Non-Renewable Groundwater
• Immediate gains vs. long term benefits
• No clear “Exit Strategy”,
no replacement for non-renewable water resource
after
Al Zubari, 2010
we are here, but
where are we
going next?

Declining Shares of Agriculture in GDP

Food Supply Chains:
Losses of Food – and Water
Gustavsson et al., 2011
Production Volumes per Commodity Group (million tonnes)

Radioactivity-related Cancer Risk from
Groundwater in the Middle East?
Spiegel Online, 05 Nov 2012:
www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/radioaktive-strahlung-im-grundwasserin-nahost-und-nordafrika-a-854588.html
Schubert et al., 2011: www.psipw.org/attachments/article/300/IJWRAE_1(1)25-32.pdf

Sources of Water and Use

Alternative Future Water Policy Options
Basically 3 future policy options available:
• Population Policy change –
high political risk, long term impact,
adopted economic development model
• Agricultural Policy change –
medium political risk, medium term impact
• Water Policy change –
lower political risk, short term impact
• Combination of two or three of the above

Transboundary Water and
Transboundary Aquifers

www.escwa.un.org 46
TB Water & Aquifers Worldwide
• MENA Region: Only few transboundary rivers,
BUT large volumes of transboundary groundwater
• Concepts for Transboundary River Basins do not
necessarily fit to the needs in MENA
1 July 2013

www.escwa.un.org 47
What is a Transboundary Aquifer ?
1 July 2013
UNESCO / ISARM,
2001

www.escwa.un.org 48
TB Water & Aquifers in Middle East
1 July 2013

www.escwa.un.org 49
1 July 2013
Saq-Ram Aquifer
System (West)

www.escwa.un.org 50
Chapter Features - Groundwater
1 July 2013

Israel, Jordan and Palestine

Jordan River Basin
• 4 of 5 riparians
officially support the
1997 UN Watercourse
Convention
JORDAN
RIVER
BASIN
JORDAN
PALESTINE
SYRIA
LEBANON
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Zeitoun 2010

Upper Jordan River Basin - Springs
Klein, 1998

Israel
Libanon
Golan
Jordan
Hasbani (125 Mio m³/a)
Dan (250 Mio m³/a)
Banias (125 Mio m³/a)
Israel
Libanon
Golan
Jordan
Hasbani (125 Mio m³/a)
Dan (250 Mio m³/a)
Banias (125 Mio m³/a)

• Hasbani Spring, Hasbani River

• Ouazzani Spring, Hasbani River

Klein,1998
km2
MCM/y mm/y
Dan 17.60 228 12,954.55
Hasbani 698.00 122 174.79
Banias 189.00 113 597.88
Dan
Hasbani
Banias 189.00 113 597.88
Dan
Hasbani
Banias
511.83
489.10
904.60 463
715.60 350

Lake Tiberias

Lake Tiberias discharge –
“Spring” of the Lower Jordan River
Zeitoun. 2010

The Mouth of the River Jordan -
at the Dead Sea
… in 2008:
1.20 m wide

Jordan River Basin
Moelle. 2000 ?

Israel - Palestine: The Mountain Aquifers
• Geological Cross Section from West to East
FAO. 2009

www.escwa.un.org 64
Groundwater Data: Israel – Palestine
Historical Use: Surface and Groundwater
Zeitoun, Messerschmid, Attili, 2009
1 July 2013

www.escwa.un.org 65
Groundwater Data: Israel – Palestine
Groundwater Development Costs
MacDonald et al., 2009
1 July 2013

Perspectives
Friends of the Earth Middle East

Climate Change and Water
in the Region
Understanding Impacts
Making Adaptation Work

Potential Impacts
• Coupled with excessive population growth and rising
living standards,
climate change will exacerbate water scarcity conditions
across the Arab world.
• Persistent reduction of total annual precipitation coupled
with rising temperatures will reduce water availability.
• Higher temperatures will influence water quality and may
cause additional sanitation problems

Potential Impacts
• Changes in water availability
– Increase system resilience through surface / underground storage and transfer capacity
– Shift form surface to underground storage where applicable to reduce evaporation losses
• Urban drainage networks - new dimensions
– Sewage systems, storm runoff
• Desalination - higher temperature in feed water may increase algae growth and risk
of closure of plant intake
– Improve intake procedures
– Increase storage and transfer capacity
• Infrastructure failures
– Higher flooding intensities, frequencies
– Higher temperatures,
• Changes in hydraulic patterns and temperatures
– Loss of snowpack storage in Lebanon, Oman, etc.
• Groundwater recharge changes, impacts on spring and river discharges
– Increase managed aquifer recharge schemes
– Better monitoring and scientific understanding of recharge mechanism for predictive planning
of alternatives, before springs cease
• Seawater level rise
– Increasing groundwater salinisation

Change in Length of Dry Season
Evans, J.P., 2009.
21st Century
Climate Change in the
Middle East.

Changes in RCM projections of seasonal
precipitation (mm/season) across the region
Hemming, D. et al., 2007. Environmental Stresses from Detailed Climate Model Simulations for the
Middle East and Gulf Regions. Defense and Security Implications of Climate Change – Gulf Region
Mar to May 2070 Sep to Nov 2070

Changes in RCM projections of seasonal
precipitation (mm/season) across the region
Hemming, D. et al., 2007. Environmental Stresses from Detailed Climate Model Simulations for the
Middle East and Gulf Regions. Defense and Security Implications of Climate Change – Gulf Region

RICCAR - Regional Initiative

Water, water, everywhere …
but not always enough for
everybody and everything

Main Messages
• Water is everybody’s business.
• Goal of many countries:
National water strategy for water security,
enough water for all demands.
• Countries in the region are largely unable to sustain their
water needs only from within their national boundaries.
• All countries are already net water importers through
food imports – virtual water.
• Largest water consumer is agriculture, although rarely
economically viable nor socially necessary.

Main Messages
• Urgent need to change water, agriculture and population
policies with regard to water consumption and protection.
• Surface and groundwater is often transboundary, i.e.
(needs to be) shared between neighbouring countries.
• Effective und sustainable management of transboundary
water needs willingness to cooperate for a more
equitable sharing of the benefits from the common
resource.
• Without cooperation, without innovative integration of
economic tools, social justice and environmental
sustainable approaches, without regional and bilateral
agreements on water, the region may actually slowly
move towards a mass suicide.

Hope? – A More Optimistic View

The Scorpion and the Frog
A scorpion is asking a frog to carry him
across a river. The frog is afraid of being
stung during the trip, but the scorpion
argues that if it stung the frog, the frog would
sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog
agrees and begins carrying the scorpion, but
midway across the river the scorpion does
indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.
When asked why, the scorpion points out
that this is its nature.
Hope? – A Less Optimistic View
http://www.flickr.com/photos/medmss/5887746629
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

R. Klingbeil, 2013: Water Resources Challenges in the Middle East.

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