ABSTRACT
The main point in this paper is that much of the commentary on human rights to water is trivial; it belabours the obvious, and ignores what is difficult. Although the situation is more or less the same the world over, the lack of attention to broader views of water rights is particularly troubling in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Nowhere else in the world is the competition for water so strong as it is in MENA. Average annual supply of water for the region as a whole is now well under 1500 m3 per capita, and many nations fall below 500 m3 (UNESCO, 2003). At those levels, chronic water scarcity can be expected unless water is managed carefully and the economy is directed to low-water-consuming activities. Today, most MENA nations still base their economies on irrigated agriculture, and their population growth is among the fastest in the world. Clearly, problems lie ahead.
