Water Scarcity, Climate Change and Conflict in the Middle East ─ Securing Livelihoods, Building Peace

The countries that make up the MENA region display wide diversity. One of the poorest countries in the world sits alongside two of the wealthiest, whilst the region's natural resources range from immeasurable oil and gas reserves to some of the scantiest natural endowments anywhere in the world. Yet amongst this diversity runs a common thread: water scarcity. Now, as a result of human development and climate change, the water resource itself is changing, exposing it to new risks and increasing the vulnerability of those dependent on it. Chris Ward and Sandra Ruckstuhl assess the increased challenges facing MENA countries, placing particular emphasis on water scarcity and the resultant risks to livelihoods, food security and the environment. They evaluate the risks and reality of climate change in the region, and offer an assessment of the vulnerability of agriculture and livelihoods. In a final section they explore the options for responding to the new challenges, including policy, institutional, economic and technical measures.

Christopher Ward is Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. He was formerly with the World Bank, working largely in the field of natural resource management and rural development in the Middle East and Africa. He has lived in Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Somalia, as well as Kenya, Madagascar and the USA. He is currently a consultant to a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization, Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit and KFW. He is the author of The Water Crisis in Yemen: Managing Extreme Water Scarcity in the Middle East (I.B.Tauris, 2015).Sandra Rucksthuhl has more than fifteen years experience with United Nations agencies, the World Bank, and the US Government working on improving the conflict sensitivity of international development and humanitarian aid initiatives in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. She has specialized field experience supporting water and natural resource management projects, and has conducted analysis and provided operational guidance for programmes in more than 20 countries. She holds a PhD in conflict management and resolution. She is currently Gender Specialist Global Water Practice with the World Bank for two regional/transboundary water management programs in Central and South Asia and is Program Manager, for the USA Sustainable Cities Initiative.