2008 Regional Drought Impact. The nations of the Middle East will be affected this year to varying degrees by drought caused by below-normal rainfall and low winter snowfall. Some governments have placed bans on grain exports, while others are severely reducing area planted to rain-fed and irrigated crops. The damage has been so devastating in some areas that countries are actually abandoning their agricultural programs. Farm Chemicals International
By Hana Namrouqa
(MENAFN – Jordan Times) With people in over 17 Arab countries living well below the water poverty line of 500 cubic metres annually, Arab decision makers on Monday called for coordinated efforts to address the impact of climate change on the limited resource.
Experts said more than 75 per cent of the surface water in the Arab world, most of which is made up of semi-arid or arid land, originates from outside its borders, thus necessitating measures to protect water security and curb future political crises erupting from water shortages.
Speaking at a scientific forum on Arab water security, organised by the Arab Administrative Development Organisation in cooperation with the Dubai police, Arab experts and officials stressed the need to draw up joint strategies to address the gap between supply and demand and improve water management. …
During the opening session yesterday, participants also discussed the role of integrated water management in coping with water scarcity and reviewed agreements, conventions and international laws regulating the exploitation of joint surface and underground water resources.
They said climate change is the key threat to the region’s already scant water supply, calling for programmes to alleviate the impact of the phenomenon.
According to environment experts, Arab states face several threats due to increased drought and desertification, scarcity of water resources, increased salinity of groundwater and the spread of pest epidemics and diseases caused by the phenomenon.
So far, climate change has caused a 30 per cent reduction in the Kingdom’s surface water resources, as well as a decrease in the volume of rainfall and agricultural production, both of which the country and the Arab world heavily rely on.
If climate change continues at its current pace, Jordan is expected to witness a 1-2C increase in temperatures by 2030-2050, diminished aquifers and oases, reduced green cover and the transformation of semi-arid lands, some 80 per cent of the country’s total area, into arid deserts, according to environment experts. …