The Near East and North Africa Regional Water Scarcity Initiative, By Jean-Marc Faurès, Land and Water Division, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. The
Near East and North Africa
Regional Water Scarcity Initiative
Jean-Marc Faurès
Land and Water Division

2. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
Overall situation of water management in NENA Region
 Countries have over past 40-50 years made important economic development
efforts and investment in water resources, albeit with differences.
 Region has acquired good experience in water management; and is slightly ahead
of other similar regions in terms of agriculture water management indicators.
 HOWEVER, current levels of performance and food insecurity gap reduction are
still well below potential and do not reflect acuity of water scarcity which is
higher than in other regions.
 The approaches to improve water management applied over the past 10-15 years
have reached their limits.
 There is a need to inject fresh thinking in looking for sustainable solutions that
focus on performances of irrigated agriculture but also looks beyond at more
strategic level including agriculture as a whole, trade, food security, rural
development and the overall political economy of water.

3. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
Objective and Outcomes
Overall Objectives
 support Member Countries in identifying priority areas of action that can
significantly contribute to boosting agriculture productivity, contribute to
improving food security and sustaining water resources
 highlight the specific areas that require support of partners active in the
field of agriculture water in the region
 build partnerships to move the process forward.

4. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
Outcome I
Outputs
Water accounting
Outcome II
Output
Regional Collaborative Strategy
Food Supply Cost
Curve analysis
Gap Analysis
Regional Partnership
Collaboration Agreement on Implementation
Why a ‘collaborative’ strategy and ‘Partnership’?
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Multidisciplinary teams in countries
National workshops in pilot countries engaging all stakeholders
Exchanges between countries through regional workshops
Broad partnership with regional and international institutions
Inclusive process for strategy design and implementation

5. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
Partner countries
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania,
Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia,
Emirates, and Yemen
Partners in countries
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Water
Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries
Rural development, local institutions
Trade
Food security – nutrition
Energy
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Partner Institutions
Multiple partners on national, regional and international levels, e.g. LAS,
ICARDA, IFAD, IDRC, GIZ, World Bank, African Development Bank, AWC, etc.

6. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
Why collaboration ? Who are the stakeholders ?
1. National policy makers, in particular government agencies and
parliamentarians.
2. Government offices in charge of the implementation of the national policies
3. Resources partners: donors and other development-oriented institutions.
4. Nongovernmental organizations and civil society organisations
5. Communities and farmers via farmers’ organizations and local institutions.
6. Research institutions, national, regional and international.
7. Regional policy and economic organizations that influence national
policy/programs/plans and investments.
8. The Private sector that make solutions accessible, create access to markets, and
establish value chains.
9. Media – newspapers, television, radio …..
10.Food Consumers, both urban and rural

7. Water Scarcity Pilot Initiative
The power of partnership
High interest/Low Influence
INTEREST High interest in topic but limited power to
directly impact AWM and food security
ACTION: Keep this group informed
through broad dissemination strategy
and solicit specific feedback and help as
required
Low interest/Low Influence
Limited interest and power but may have
complementary interests
ACTION: Keep this group informed
through broad dissemination strategy.
Monitor to see if their situations change
High interest/High Influence
High power and interest to influence or
directly implement actions of relevance to
AWM and food security
ACTION: Involve at the start and work
increasingly closely with individual
organizations within this group as the
strategy is being developed
Low interest/High Influence
Limited or no interest but potentially high
degree of influence on the success of the
strategy
ACTION: Seek to raise their interest level
and find incentives for them to become
more directly involved in the strategy.
POWER/INFLUENCE