Geopolitics delay action while climate change threatens to parch Mideast

The Middle East and North Africa region faces serious water risks, but experts say the collective action needed to address the problem is still far off.
A girl drinks water from a tap inside a refugee camp in Baghdad September 27, 2007. About 70 families lived in a refugee camp after they were displaced from their homes because of the sectarian violence, the Red Crescent organization said. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ) - GM1DWGBBQSAA
A girl drinks water from a tap inside a refugee camp, Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2007. - REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud
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Sam Brennan
@samkbren

Of the 17 countries that face water stress, 12 of them are in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), placing the region at not only economic and environmental risk but also political risk, according to a global report.

“When taps run dry, it can lead to massive unrest,” Rutger Hofste, an associate at the World Resources Institute (WRI), told Al-Monitor, referring to data on global water stress and risk released by the organization Aug. 6. “The stakes are high.”

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