The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Middle East and North Africa

Borgomeo, Edoardo; Jägerskog, Anders; Talbi, Amal; Wijnen, Marcus; Hejazi, Mohamad; Miralles‐Wilhelm, Fernando

doi:10.1596/29957

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…FEW security is of paramount importance in the Middle East, given its influence in the region's stability and economic growth [25]. For instance, an extensive amount of energy is consumed powering the desalination and wastewater recycling units for water supply in the Gulf region [26].…”

Section: The Food-energy-water (Few) Security In the Middle Eastmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

Hameed

Moradkhani

Ahmadalipour

et al. 2019

Water

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Developing countries have experienced significant challenges in meeting their needs for food, energy, and water security. This paper presents a country-level review of the current issues associated with Food-Energy-Water (FEW) security in the Middle East. In this study, sixteen countries in the Middle East are studied, namely Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, and the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen). Here, we conduct a comprehensive assessment to study and evaluate the emerging drivers of FEW systems in the region. The investigated drivers include water security, extreme events, economic growth, urbanization, population growth, poverty, and political stability. The results suggest that most of the studied countries are facing FEW resource insecurity or weak planning/management strategies. Our evaluation further revealed the current status of each country with respect to each factor, and suggested that climatic and socioeconomic factors have contributed to the subsequent stress on FEW resources, specifically on the water sector. In general, and with respect to the water-energy security, it was found that energy production in the Middle East is highly constrained by water deficiency, drought, and/or economic growth. The water-food security in the region is mainly affected by drought, water scarcity, population growth, urbanization, and/or political unrest.

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Section: The Food-energy-water (Few) Security In the Middle Eastmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

Hameed

Moradkhani

Ahmadalipour

et al. 2019

Water

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“…In turn, this could force farmers to adopt more efficient irrigation techniques, switch out of water intensive crops, or abandon farming altogether, with the latter scenario leading to significant negative effects on rural employment, livelihoods, and rural‐urban migration. Moving toward renewable energy technologies for irrigation and water production might provide an opportunity to reduce the region's water sector dependence on hydrocarbons while contributing to meeting international climate agreements (Borgomeo et al, 2018; Closas & Rap, 2017). In addition, it could contribute to reducing water consumption for oil production, which is high relative to global averages across the region, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq among the top 25 countries with the highest freshwater consumption in energy generation in the world (Spang et al, 2014).…”

Section: Critical Trends and Uncertainties Shaping Sustainable Water mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling the Trickle: Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in the Arab Region

et al. 2020

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Water scarcity in the Arab region is intensifying due to population growth, economic development, and the impacts of climate change. It is manifested in groundwater depletion, freshwater ecosystem degradation, deteriorating water quality, low levels of water storage per capita, and added pressures on transboundary water resources. High-income Arab countries have sought to circumvent the ever-present challenges of water scarcity through agricultural imports (virtual water trade), desalination, and, increasingly, wastewater reuse. In this review article, we argue that the narrative of water scarcity and supply-side technological fixes masks more systemic issues that threaten sustainable water management, including underperforming water utilities, protracted armed conflict and displacement, agricultural policies aimed at self-sufficiency, evolving food consumption behaviors, the future of energy markets, and educational policy. Water management challenges, particularly on the demand side, and responses in the Arab region cannot be understood in isolation from these broader regional and international political and socioeconomic trends. Recognizing the complex and interdependent challenges of water management is the first step in reforming approaches and shifting to more sustainable development outcomes and stability in the Arab region and beyond.

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“…Water also provides a source of renewable energy (RE), especially for the creation of hydroelectricity. The water‐energy infrastructure nexus has broader impacts for other sectors such as food; increasingly, research has sought to illuminate the broader nexus (e.g., Borgomeo et al, 2018; Keulertz et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Water‐energy Nexus and Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As with desalination, pumping and transporting groundwater requires considerable energy inputs. A recent World Bank and FAO study found that the amount of energy used for pumping and drainage to support the agricultural sector is about 6% of total electricity and diesel consumed (Borgomeo et al, 2018, p. 5).…”

Section: Water‐energy Infrastructure Development and Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the MENA region as a whole, the World Bank and FAO have cautioned that if pumping of groundwater resources in the MENA continues “under a ‘business as usual’ scenario,” nonrenewable groundwater reserves are likely to disappear by 2050, affecting agricultural production and food security throughout the region (Borgomeo et al, 2018, p. 2). Increasing water scarcity and degradation of water quality will limit the types of crops that can be grown, and staples such as rice production in the northern part of Iran will diminish (Borgomeo et al, 2018, p. 25). Already, Saudi Arabia has begun phasing out energy and water subsidies for wheat cultivation because of groundwater over‐extraction (Woertz, 2013).…”

Section: Water‐energy Infrastructure Development and Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The water‐energy nexus in the Middle East: Infrastructure, development, and conflict

Weinthal

Sowers

2020

WIREs Water

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Water and energy are closely linked in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through coupled networks of infrastructure. This review explores the water‐energy nexus of infrastructure to explicate different patterns of development and de‐development in the MENA. First, the review highlights why states, donors, and firms have long built large‐scale coupled water‐energy infrastructures to provide urban services, expand irrigated agriculture, and foster development. Yet, too often the adverse social and environmental impacts from the construction of dams, water conveyance structures, groundwater mining, and desalination plants have been overlooked. We then examine the water‐energy nexus through infrastructure for the most important users of water and energy in the MENA region: urban populations and the agricultural sector. Third, the review illustrates that while investments in water and energy infrastructure generated significant gains in human development for much for of the region, the post‐2011 wars reversed many of these development gains in conflict‐affected countries through the destruction and deterioration of water‐energy infrastructures. The unprecedented displacement of populations within and across borders has also created new challenges for host communities, where infrastructures for providing water and energy services were already overstretched. The review further highlights the growing role of humanitarian assistance in providing water and energy services to refugees, internally displaced populations, and host communities. Overall, this review examines how the nexus of water and energy infrastructure shapes human security, livelihoods, and political economies in the MENA region. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Engineering Water > Planning Water

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The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Middle East and North Africa

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

Tackling the Trickle: Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in the Arab Region

The water‐energy nexus in the Middle East: Infrastructure, development, and conflict

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