Water conservation in the Arab region: a must for survival

The Arab region covers an area over 13 million square kilometers in size, with almost 90% of its area classified as arid or extremelyarid with very little precipitation, extremely high evaporation and almost no vegetation cover. The region is classified inmany international reports as the poorest region in the world in the context of renewable water resources and critical water scarcitywhich hinders the socio-economic development of many countries in this region. The rapidly increasing population has reducedthe per capita share of renewable water to less than the poverty line of 1,000 m³/(capita·a) and, in some Arab countries, to less thanthe extreme poverty line of 500 m³/(capita·a). This has led to over-exploitation of non-renewable groundwater and desalination ofsalty water in many countries with considerable costs and contamination of many renewable sources. Atmospheric processes responsiblefor aridity in the Arab region are projected to intensify due to climate change, resulting in an alarming decrease in precipitationand increase in evaporation rates. Many concerned entities in the region consider water security as a key element forfood security and ultimately political stability. Hence, various efforts have been exerted to identify key problems and suggestedsolutions. The Arab Water Ministers Council of the Arab League, as well as Reports of the Arab Forum for the Environment andDevelopment (AFED) and the recommendations of the 13th Regional Meeting of the Arab National Committees of the InternationalHydrological Programme of UNESCO (IHP), have all made similar recommendations on the need to address the issues ofwater scarcity in the Arab region which will be further discussed in this paper. However, none of these reports focused on "WaterConservation" as an equally important action for coping with water scarcity in the region. There are many definitions for "WaterConservation" in the scientific literature, including huge water savings from irrigation, industrial use, and domestic use as well asmethods and approaches for augmenting water supply through non-conventional practices such as water harvesting and wastewater reuse. In this paper, a review is provided for definitions, methods and impacts of water conservation and its role in alleviatingwater scarcity in the Arab region.