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Pradigm shift to Regional Cooperation on water and food security  in the Middle East  is vital

• 15.11.2018
• Author:admin
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M.Gürani Koch Head of International Affairs Center Hydropolitics Association 15 Nov. 2018 Emerging threats force enhancing regional cooperation in the MENA through regional projects will be developed based on  muttually beneficial approach   The Middle East region is one of many contradictions and extremes in terms of natural resources, socioeconomic contexts, level of development and per capita income. The region, which is mostly rich in conventional energy resources such as oil and gas, is one of the most water scarce and food import dependent regions in the world. Existing insecurities in water, energy and food in the region have been linked to some of the conflicts in the region acting as a threat multiplier as well as pressure points. One recent example is the devastating ongoing war in Syria which started as the result of complex interrelated sociopolitical and economic factors including, as well as challenges associated with climate variability and changes in the availability of freshwater. These insecurities are expected to be further intensified with the projected impacts of climate change, increase in population growth, economic growth, increase in urbanization rate and the ongoing security conflicts in the region. In addition, global warming is at the heart of the debates and the States face security and strategic issues related to the shortage of resources. The temperature raise and political refugees and their displacement as well as the number of climate and political refugees present in various countries in the region cause an economic and environmental shock in the world and especially in the Mediterranean region. It is obvious that many countries in the region could benefit from enhanced cooperation to deal with challenges in the  water and food  security that will shape of the future of the region. The projected climate change will not only impact water availability, agricultural productivity and demand on energy. It will also lead to an increased risk of natural disasters and higher rates of internal and regional displacement. According to one of the projections, the impacts of climate change will decrease agricultural productivity in Lebanon and result in an increase in national net migration of 3.19% between 2010 and 2030. In sum, new initiatives with a paradigm shift are needed to drive this process. We firstly need to create a shared goal ,shared vision and unity of effort base.Afterwards we take   confidence building measures, working towards a shared and improved knowledge base, technology transfer and innovation, mobilizing finance, information sharing, capacity and institutional building, encouraging private sector participation and a paradigm shift in donor funding and support.