Core focus

This unit explores issues of sustainable water use in the Arab region, the most water-scarce area in the world. For thousands of years, the populations of countries of the Arab region have been heavily concentrated in the areas fed by adequate rainfall and big rivers. The great deserts have been very sparsely populated. To grow food, a variety of irrigation techniques have been developed, including tapping into the region's ancient aquifers. Rapidly increasing populations and growing demand for water challenge the sustainability of these practices. Governments of the Arab region face the challenge of balancing the demand for food and water security. Importing food with a high water footprint is a way of reducing demand for water, but some countries in the Arab region have few resources to trade in exchange for water.