Description: 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 through this diversity runs a common thread: water scarcity. Now, through the impact of human development and climate change, the water resource itself is changing, bringing new risks and increasing the vulnerability of all those dependent on water. Chris Ward and Sandra Ruckstuhl assess the increased challenges now facing the countries of the region, 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.
Brief description: Christopher Ward is a scholar on water and the environment with a particular interest in the Middle East. He studied at St John's College and St Antony's College, Oxford. After 25 years working at the World Bank, he joined the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of The Water Crisis in Yemen (2015) and of Water Scarcity, Climate Change and Conflict in the Middle East (2018). as well as of numerous studies and articles, most recently on water scarcity in Viet Nam and Indonesia, and of a monograph on desalination.
Review Quotes:
"Writing in a clear and concise style, the authors succeed in presenting an overarching portrait of the region while highlighting important national differences. Historical examples help ground this thorough and insightful study, which will be of interest to those focusing on political economy, environmental governance, water resource management, the Middle East and North Africa, and climate change. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals."
--Choice Connect