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World Bank Publication: Water Reuse in the Arab World: From Principle to Practice
Arab nations have historically played a lead role in the development of innovative water solutions with noteworthy achievements including global leadership in desalination, dam infrastructure and drip irrigation. Nonetheless, the challenge of optimizing water management remains an important priority across the Arab world.
Until recently, planned wastewater management in the Arab region focused on the conventional objectives of protecting public health and the environment. Pervasive water scarcity, urbanization and the increasingly obvious impacts of climate change however led to a shift in local perceptions of the importance of properly capturing and using reclaimed water. Today, water reuse is regarded by most Arab nations to have great potential in significantly increasing available water resources. Arab states currently produce an estimated 10.8 km3/year of wastewater, of which approximately 55% and 15% are reported to be respectively treated and reused in agriculture, landscape irrigation, industrial cooling and environmental protection. In some countries, water reuse in groundwater recharge is further used to protect freshwater.
In May 2011, the Arab Water Council, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture and Islamic Development Bank convened the “Expert Consultation Meeting on Wastewater Management in the Arab World”. The objective of the meeting was to better quantify the status and lessons learned on water reuse in the Arab world. Guided by the mission to maximize the economic, social and environmental benefits from water reuse in Arab countries, the Consultation provided a platform for dialogue among Arab water experts on priorities and synergies for advancing water reuse management in the Arab region.
This report thus: (i) summarizes principal messages and priorities on water reuse as communicated by Arab water experts in papers and presentations prepared for the Consultation (provided in the CD attached) and (ii) provides an overview of the current status and future potential of water reuse across the Arab region, as described by local experts and institutions.
Far from being an exhaustive treaty of the complex subject of water reuse, this short report was compiled—in partnership with the World Bank—in an effort to distill, summarize and convey the Arab experience with water reuse to date, as described by local practitioners. The report is thus structured round the following six common topics and will hopefully inform the many active discussions across the Arab world on how to move from principle to practice in water reuse:
- Current status of water in the Arab world;
- Basic economic considerations of water reuse;
- Infrastructure investments to enable sustainable reuse;
- Benefits of reuse in agriculture;
- Sustainable cost recovery models and
- Elements of a successful national water reuse strategy.
| Contact information | n/a |
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| News type | Inbrief |
| File link |
http://water.worldbank.org/sites/water.worldbank.org/files/publication/Water-Reuse-Arab-World-From-Principle%20-Practice.pdf |
| File link local |
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| Source of information | World Bank |
| Keyword(s) | water reuse |
| Subject(s) | AGRICULTURE , ANALYSIS AND TESTS , CHARACTERISTICAL PARAMETERS OF WATERS AND SLUDGES , DRINKING WATER , DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION : COMMON PROCESSES OF PURIFICATION AND TREATMENT , ENERGY , HYDRAULICS - HYDROLOGY , INFRASTRUCTURES , MEASUREMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATION , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , PREVENTION AND NUISANCES POLLUTION , SANITATION -STRICT PURIFICATION PROCESSES , SLUDGES , WATER QUALITY |
| Relation | http://www.emwis.net/topics/WaterReuse |
| Geographical coverage | n/a |
| News date | 18/05/2012 |
| Working language(s) | ENGLISH |
