Connecting regional experts from the Middle East and Nile Basin countries to contribute to solving water scarcity

Research & Development
Sep 2016 - Jul 2018

Partners: Hydraulic Research Institute (HRI), Nile Basin Capacity Building Network (NBCBN), UNESCO Water Chair, UAF Stichting voor Vluchteling-Studenten
Donor: Stichting IHE
Donor Programme: DGIS - UNESCO-IHE Programmatic Cooperation

Middle East and North Africa

This project will organize workshops to learn from Refugee water experts in the Netherlands. We will use the knowledge of Middle East refugees in Netherlands to better deal with the water scarcity situation in the Middle East. Two workshops will be held with refugees with agricultural or water management backgrounds to do a needs assessment. In order to address water scarcity in the Nile Basin (NBCBN), hotspots will be identified as well as three trans-boundary case study sub-catchments will be identified (in the Blue Nile, White Nile, and Nile Proper). NBCBN organisations will develop detailed proposals on addressing water scarcity issues in the three case studies found. Role of drought forecasting and monitoring in efficient water use and management will be assessed. The water scarcity - flood risk paradox will be addressed in each of the case studies. The analysis will include vulnerability and resilience assessments, realising Water Scarcity challenges are not solely a water quantity or quality problem, but also concerns the societies governmental, institutional, and civil society coping capacity.