Water Shortage in MENA Region: An Interdisciplinary Overview and a Suite of Practical Solutions

Zyadin, Anas

doi:10.4236/jwarp.2013.54a008

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Adar & Check, 2011;Antonelli & Sartori, 2015;Elnur, 2011). To the Western part of MENA desertification and degradation of ecosystems due to global warming, this paper will exacerbate the problem of water scarcity, particularly Morocco and Algeria (Zyadin, 2013). The disastrous impact of Qaddafi celebrated monument (the great manmade river) is being recently assessed in terms of historical loss of non-renewable resources where as in Saudi Arabia the priority should go to drinking water and basic human need (Bindra, Hamid, Abulifa, Al Reiani, & Abdalla, 2014;Wheida & Verhoeven, 2007).…”

Section: Challenges Of Environmental Sustainability and Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cost of pursuing the latter can be a recipe for wasteful use precious resources. The experience of Saudi-highly subsidized wheat production which led the underground water near depletion before the Saudi authorities backed off the unsustainable wheat production (Zyadin, 2013). Sudan's various versions of "breadbasket strategy" based on horizontal expansion and land-grabbing was another example of environmentally unsustainable food-sufficiency.…”

Section: Challenges Of Environmental Sustainability and Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-2015 Development Priorities for the Arab World

Elnur¹,

Kuttab²

2016

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The paper addresses the failure of renewing the same millennium development goals (MDGs) format in measuring achievement in a region like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region which is drastically being transformed. A new approach focusing on "human security" principles based on freedom, dignity, justice, equality, solidarity, tolerance, and respect articulated in the millennium declaration is needed. Achieving this requires a more integrated, inclusive, and comprehensive development framework that is able to analyze and understand the context with its progress and setbacks. The paper realizes that measuring MDGs achievement does not only need a comprehensive integrated approach, but also a definition of risks and challenges that the region faces. Issues like poverty, inequality, unemployment of graduates, personal and collective insecurity due to conflict, migration, and brain drain, food insecurity, and gender inequality are all issues that need to be redefined when analyzing the region to suit the context. The paper concludes that in order to understand the context, re-definition of concepts like poverty reduction, participation, and empowerment is needed to make concepts more relevant to the context. Lastly, the paper reflects the new call from youth for a new development model that is not based on market economy, ends political economy of the rentier states, and emphasizes a productive oriented economy that is able to generate employment and decent work. It also emphasizes democratic governance as an only path for a sustainable participatory development that can realize ambitions and aspirations of the majority of population.

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Section: Challenges Of Environmental Sustainability and Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Challenges Of Environmental Sustainability and Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-2015 Development Priorities for the Arab World

Elnur¹,

Kuttab²

2016

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“…threat.The Middle East is the largest part of the world with water shortage (Khodarahimi & Deghani, 2012;RoudiFahimi et al, 2002) and one of the regions of the world which are facing a serious water crisis (Gürsoy & Jacques, 2014;Zyadin, 2013). Despite having 14% of world's area and6% of its population, the Middle East enjoys only 1.4% of world's renewable freshwater resources (Al-Rimmawi, 2012).…”

Section: Issn-2348 5191 (Print) and 2348 8980 (Electronic)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Water Crisis on Food Production in Iran

Zargan¹,

Waez-Mousavi²

2016

AMBIENT SCIENCE

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Food is an essential factor to human life and its production is strongly related to water. Regions without enough available water are subjected to food security threat. Iran is a country in the water-scarce region of the Middle East and a great part of it is arid and semi-arid areas. This study aimed to investigate the effect of water crisis on food production of Iran. Results showed that Iran is suffering from a high water stress situation. The agriculture sector of Iran is the major source for feeding its fast growing population and this section has put a severe pressure on groundwater resources in order to meet food demand of the country. Since then Iran has used a great part of its hydrologic renewable water resources and due to which it could be estimated that the withdrawals reached to non-renewable part of groundwater. Thus, Iran's agriculture would face a great challenge of water shortage in near future and the food security of the country will be threatened. Using new irrigation methods and technology and revision of crop pattern in agriculture are suggested in order to confront the threat of water crisis to the food security of Iran. AbstractIntroduction:

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“…Environmental awareness is also needed to involve the public in efforts to address and tackle key environmental challenges, such as water shortage in Jordan and in many of the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries (Zyadin 2013). To this end, we investigated the level of environmental awareness among school students and the nature of their perceptions by asking to whom environment protection should be attributed.…”

Section: Environmental Awareness and Perceptions Among Young School Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for renewable energy education (REE) in elevating youth energy and environmental awareness in Jordan

Zyadin¹

2015

Diss. For.

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Renewable Energy Education (REE) is an evolving public education approach that ultimately aims to elevate public awareness and cultivate their support toward renewable energy (RE) development. Young citizens are the pacesetters of RE development if equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills. There is, however, a lack of research studies aimed at exploring and understanding young citizens' perceptions and attitudes toward RE, particularly in developing countries. Jordan is an example of a fossil fuel-addicted country, yet it is endowed with enormous RE potential. This dissertation provides a synthesis drawn from exploring school students' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward RE and their perceptions toward protection of the environment (Paper 1, IV). This study also investigated knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards RE among secondary school teachers (Paper II). The nature of interactions between students, home, school, and the role of mass media were also explored (Paper III).The results showed that females, residents of urban areas, and students of private-mixed schools were more knowledgeable of the uses and the nature of renewable energy technologies (Paper I). The study found that males seem to support nuclear power, while females favored renewables (Paper 1). Females attributed the responsibility for environmental protection to society as a whole, while males attributed it specifically to the government. However, females appeared very skeptical about the role of science/technology, and interventions from developed countries on environmental protection (Paper IV). The students' knowledge of bioenergy appeared very weak (Paper I). Although teachers supported RE they appeared skeptical about its future development in Jordan (Paper II). The teachers thus supported nuclear power and oil shale resource utilization as a means for economic development. The students denoted their parents as a prime source of information while they indicated that the internet was an important tool to acquire information.The study suggests that educated and well-informed young citizens may convey their knowledge to their illiterate parents. TV and school activities appeared of great importance for females whilst males preferred to receive information from parents and school teachers (Paper III). The study highlighted the need to revisit the current public education policies in Jordan in order to craft new policies aimed at fostering a better knowledge of RE, its uses and benefits with special focus on females' preferences and needs. The study also suggests developing the RE knowledge capacities of teachers to ensure successful implementation of newly crafted educational policies. The study further suggests developing public outreach campaigns through mass media with the aim of eliminating uncertainty among the public regarding future energy choices.

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Water Shortage in MENA Region: An Interdisciplinary Overview and a Suite of Practical Solutions

Cited by 25 publications

References 27 publications

Post-2015 Development Priorities for the Arab World

Post-2015 Development Priorities for the Arab World

The Effects of Water Crisis on Food Production in Iran

Prospects for renewable energy education (REE) in elevating youth energy and environmental awareness in Jordan

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