FAO warns of worsening water scarcity in mediterranean
Regional, Economics, 2/4/2002

Competition for scarce water resources will increase in the Mediterranean basin in the coming decades and will seriously aggravate the existing shortage of water.

Among the 21 countries that have been declared water-scarce, 12 are in the Near East region and many of them are Mediterranean countries, says study published Monday by the International Program for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID).

"Despite water shortages, misuse of water is widespread," says the center, hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"In the Mediterranean region, agriculture is considered to be the sector where the largest volume of water can be saved," IPTRID said.

With 80 percent of total demand, Mediterranean agriculture is the biggest water consumer but farmers use large amounts of water poorly.

The 11 countries examined by the study are in the Middle East and North Africa. Their fresh water resources vary from 220 m3 per capita in Jordan and 330 m3 per capita in Palestine to about 2,000 m3 per capita in Turkey and Syria.

Irrigation plays a major role in agricultural production in the region, the report said. The total area irrigated in the region increased from about 6 to 8 million hectares between 1960 and 1980 and is today approaching 11.8 million ha.

"The contribution of irrigation to food production is very important because of its high productivity. Irrigated cereal yields reached 5.5 tons per ha in Egypt, non-irrigated cereals elsewhere yielded only 1.5 tons/ha."

The report includes case studies on water conservation initiatives in five countries. IPTRID said that Mediterranean countries had benefited from technological progress in irrigation technology in the past and that many countries in the region have developed good knowledge at local level of efficient ways to reduce water demand. "Poor implementation and management, however, have seriously limited expected water savings and increased productivity."

A case study on Jordan showed that the use of improved drip irrigation saved 20-50 percent of water, increasing cucumber and tomato crop yields by 15-20 percent. In Morocco, new irrigation technology (laser-leveled basin irrigation) resulted in water savings of 20 percent and cereal crop-yield increases of 30 percent.

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