A Plan to Reduce Water Poverty in the Fertile Crescent: Getting from Science to Solutions.

Abstract

Water scarcity is an ever-growing worldwide problem. In particular, most Fertile Crescent (FC) countries (i.e., Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel) face severe problems related to water scarcity. Growing demand for water resources due to increased population and improved living standards, prompted public agencies and others in the Fertile Crescent (FC), a semi-arid region, to seek better ways to manage water. Water scarcity is the most serious natural constraint to the FC's economic grow-th and development. Three potential paths to address water scarcity dilemma are ( 1) nontraditional shifts in water reallocation, (2) innovative supply augmentation methods and (3) identification of substitutes for water in production and consumption. Water reallocation within uses (e.g., agriculture) and among users (e.g., agriculture, industry and municipal) as well as supply augmentation (e.g., desalination, water importing, wastewater treatment, recycling, water conservation, reducing evapotranspiration and storage) can all play a role in extending water resources. A conceptual reallocation method and information from the scientific literature suggest that some reallocation in the name of efficiency may be beneficial. A conceptual supply augmentation method operationalized with secondary data suggests water supply augmentation may also lead to decreasing water scarcity. Ultimately, substitutes for water will be necessary to further minimize water scarcity. These solutions, along with their economic, political, cultural, and technical dimensions and constraints, are presented in a strategic plan format that identifies paths for increasing social benefit of the FC's water resources. The plan will assist decision-makers to identify and understand the constraints and the benefits related to non-conventional options. The plan posits a 20% shift in water from agriculture to municipal and industrial uses over the next 20 years, assumes reasonable supply improvements and speculates about the role of substitutes in the future. The plan further demonstrates a potential allocation of a hypothetical $100 million grant to a fictional FC water authority. These feasible, modest achievements would lessen water scarcity in the FC, by the year 2030.