Arabs ponder security associated with water resources
Regional, Economics, 1/24/2000

Arab officials and experts will be meeting in Cairo next February 21 to ponder security issues associated with water resources.

According to sources at the Euro-Arab study center which is co-organizing the conference with the Arab League, the three-day meeting will debate problems entailed by water scarcity, the importance of water in the Arab world economic strategies, environment questions and the Arab-Israeli conflict over water.

Participants will also review legal issues related to water problems.

Last December, an international conference on water held in Amman with the participation of 100 experts from over 50 countries had called for the creation of a Water Council for arid areas in north Africa and west Asia.

According to an Arab League report, the region provides 970 cubic meters of water per year and per inhabitant, while the world average stands at 7,650 cubic meters.

The United Nations set a ceiling of 1,000 cubic meters for each individual and warns that below this quantity, there are serious threats of diseases and underdevelopment.

The UN also predicts that the Arab population will double by 2025, from 220 million inhabitants in 1990 to 445 or 520 millions.

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