The Project titled “Support to policy consultation and actions to boost sustainable use of water and energy resources for agricultural production and livelihood improvement in the Near East Region in the context of climate change” is a one year joint project between the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The Project will be implemented in a context of a global financial crisis and will also be an opportunity to address water control projects within the framework of an undergoing program “Special Program for Food Security (SPFS)”.

The Project covers the following OIC Member Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

SESRIC has been designated as the OIC implementing agency of the Project, and a member of the Project Task Force.

• NENA is the world’s driest region. Water availability per person is around 1,570 cubic meters per person per year, compared with the average of about 7,000 worldwide and it is expected to halve by 2050, a trend that will likely be exacerbated as climate change makes countries hotter and drier. The region contains 10 percent of the world’s population, but only 2 percent of the world’s water. Moreover, the region is one of the fastest growing populations in the world with an average annual growth rate of 2.1 percent between 1990 and 2003. This incremental population growth will bring the average amount of water per capita in the region far below the scarcity level. The increasing population pressure combined with urbanization and economic development will increase water demand, leading to an even greater pressure on the cities and their infrastructure, and an increased competition on water that is presently used for irrigated agriculture.
• Agriculture uses 77 percent of the region’s water. Eight countries in the region, namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Yemen are using more water every year than is available to them, mainly by over-pumping aquifers. The greatest need in the region is to manage water for agriculture more efficiently, by pursuing efficient options that vary from water reuse to modernization of irrigation including improved rainfed agriculture.
• The energy and agriculture sectors are highly interconnected through the use and management of a common resource, water; nonetheless, at present these linkages are not fully explored and taken into account in policy-making.
• While several countries in the region spend over 20 percent of their budgets on water, unsustainable and inefficient water use remains a major problem.
• Water-related environmental problems cost many countries between 0.5 and 2.5 percent of GDP a year.
• While the region’s share in overall greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change is low (4.5%), it has the second largest volume of emissions per unit of GDP, and one of the fastest rates of growth in emission.

The above itemized facts show that there is an urgent need for both the States in the region and their development partners to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current patterns and trend in the use of water and energy resources for agricultural production at the national and regional level, particularly focused on the investment trends and on their efficiency level. This effort will lead to a thorough understanding of the situation as well as to the identification of the best practices to be followed to reach a successful management of the resources and the sensitive increase in the efficiency of the investments in water and energy related sectors.

A steady and persevering support is to be given to the countries in the region by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on policy consultation and actions to boost sustainable use of water resources for agricultural production, renewable energy production and livelihood improvement.

• Many countries in the region face problems related to water resource scarcity, overexploitation of groundwater resources, limited supply of fertile land, land degradation, pollution, inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides and recurrent droughts.
• Efforts to achieve the food, water and energy security targets reflected in the Millennium Development Goals call upon the international community to assist developing countries and particularly the most vulnerable groups of the society in facing new global challenges of rising food prices, water scarcity, growing energy demand, and climate change which will affect food security in all its four dimensions - food availability, food accessibility, food stability and food utilization.
• The Project will carry out studies on the use of water resources, on the management strategies and on the investment needs at national level, but the various parts of the region are explicitly called to seize opportunities for more supportive integrated regional development policies and strategies, which will complement the efforts of individual member countries. The support is, therefore, urgently required to bring together a number of other organizations, including non-governmental organizations and actors in the civil society, as well as international organizations that seek similar objectives, in order to compare experiences, share knowledge and best practices, and frame the way ahead for an immediate future of increased food and energy security, in face of the growing water scarcity, in the NENA Region.

It is urgent for the countries in the region to conduct a profound assessment of the conditions of the water and energy resources at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. Since the countries in the region have not yet fully developed sufficient capacities to conduct such a complete and comprehensive assessment, the Project will, therefore, assist in building the capacity of governments and civil society to prepare national reviews, analyse the current national policies for water development, examine cooperation on transboundary water management, and identify the investment needs and investment strategies for food, water and energy security to be adopted on a national and regional basis in the context of climate change. The main objectives of the Project can be summarised as follows:  

• Carry out studies and workshops to increase awareness of water-energy-food interrelation and their sustainable use.
• Address food and energy security in the Near East and North Africa region through a convergent approach which integrates four critical resource factors - water, energy, technology, and knowledge under the stress of climate change.
• Carry out studies on the use of water resources, on the management strategies and on the investment needs at national level.
• Capacity-building of governments and civil societies for optimal natural resource management.

The stakeholders’ list includes the tentatively proposed following organizations:

1. Governments

The 30 countries involved in the Project will be grouped in five sub-regions based primarily on geographic conditions and, as far as possible, on hydro-climatic homogeneity:

• Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia)
• North-eastern Africa (Djibouti, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan)
• Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen)
• Middle East (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey)
• Central Asia (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan , Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)

2. International Community/Multilateral

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) (Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) being the arm of implementation)
• The League of Arab States
• Arab Economic Forum
• Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)
• Regional Economic Organizations (REOs): the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)
• African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
• World Bank (WB)
• Arab Organization for Agriculture Development (AOAD)
• International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

3. Private Sector and Non-Government and Civil Society Organizations

• Water for agriculture oriented NGOs, both national and international
• Energy and water associations
• Energy and water companies
• National associations of farmers

A particular attention will be given to the involvement of women’s associations and organizations which promote socio-economic advancement of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of the society.

• Assist the Near East and North Africa countries in building their capacity to contribute to advocacy and project formulation and management with regard to water for agriculture and energy initiatives;
• Build awareness and bring to policy makers and public at large, the new evidence from partners and the scientific community, on the importance of linking water and energy sector planning in the region;
• Support all the stakeholders in achieving a thorough understanding of the current situation at the country and regional level, as well as of the actions that could be undertaken to solve the challenges related to the inter-linkages between water for agriculture and energy in the context of water scarcity and climate change.

At the end of the Project, it is expected that all the countries involved, adopting a participatory approach that engages members of the civil society and of the private sector, generate awareness on the issues of water for agriculture and energy and climate change, enhance their knowledge in the concerned fields and a better understanding of the current situation at the country and regional level, and reflect these findings into the respective National Reports.

The implementation of the suggested actions which will arise as an outcome of the Project will be the responsibility of the national governments, but the support of FAO will be fundamental to ensure an adequate follow-up of the results achieved. Examples of the activities to be conducted as follow-up are:

• Wide disseminations of the results of the Project;
• Establishment of Partnership Agreements, bilateral and multilateral Cooperation and Capacity Building Programmes;
• Establishment of a follow-up mechanism for the preparation of Shared Basins and Country Programmes, for the promotion of the investment programmes for water and energy development, and for the preparation, monitoring and evaluation of Action Plans for agriculture and energy.