ABSTRACT
The crisis of water scarcity looming on the horizon threatens the stability and security of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENAI ) that is home to five percent of the world's people yet has less than one percent of the world's renewable freshwater (Mubarak, 1998; Brooks, 1999). As MENA's population and economy grow against finite freshwater resources, the annual per capita availability, which was about 3,300 m3 in 1960, has fallen by 60% to about 1,250 m3 in 1995; it is predicted to fall by another 50% to about 650 m3 by 2025 (World Bank, 1996). However, in many countries like Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen the per capita availability was less than 180 m3 in 1995, far below the benchmark level of 1,000 m3 used as an indicator of severe water stress (Annexes B.4 and B.5). The map and development indicators of the region are available in Annexes A.1 and B.1.
