The AQUASTAT programme has been initiated with the view of presenting a comprehensive picture of water resources and irrigation in developing countries. This report presents the results of a survey of the Near East Region taken in 1995 and 1996. The survey relied mostly on country-based statistics and information contained in sector studies and master plans. A general summary presents a regional analysis of water resources and irrigation in the Near East Region, and 29 profiles describe the situation in each country in more detail.

Is there enough water on this planet for a global population that will shortly double its present size? The answer is of huge importance for people everywhere, but particularly to the peoples and political leaders of the Middle East and North Africa. As well as explaining the particular issues of conflict in the region, Allan argues that the answer to these problems lies at the global rather than local level. The Middle East Water Question is a major book by one of the world's leading authorities on water issues.

The countries that make up the MENA region display wide diversity. One of the poorest countries in the world sits alongside two of the wealthiest, whilst the region's natural resources range from immeasurable oil and gas reserves to some of the scantiest natural endowments anywhere in the world. Yet through this diversity runs a common thread: water scarcity. Now, through the impact of human development and climate change, the water resource itself is changing,bringing new risks and increasing the vulnerability of all those dependent on water. Chris Ward and Sandra Ruckstuhl assess the increased challenges now facing the countries of the region, placing particular emphasis on water scarcity and the resultant risks to livelihoods, food security and the environment. They evaluate the risks and reality of climate change in the region, and offer an assessment of the vulnerability of agriculture and livelihoods. In a final section, they explore the options for responding to the new challenges, including policy, institutional, economic and technical measures.

Produced biennially, The World's Water is the most comprehensive and up-to-to date source of information and analysis on freshwater resources. Each new volume examines critical global trends and offers the best data available on a variety of topics related to water. Volume 7 features chapters on U.S. water policy, transboundary waters, and the effects of fossil fuel production on water resources, among other timely issues. Water briefs provide concise updates on topics including bottled water, The Great Lakes Water Agreement, and water and security. The World's Water is coauthored by MacArthur "genius" Peter H. Gleick and his colleagues at the world-renowned Pacific Institute. Since the first volume was published in 1998, the series has become an indispensable resource for professionals in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, researchers, students, and anyone concerned with water and its use.

Bringing contributions by a variety of authors together in one volume is part of an attempt to show that hydropolitics is a growing discipline in its own right. The prevailing definition of hydropolitics is widened to include the elements of scale and range. This is illustrated through a focus on theoretical and legal issues, case studies from Southern Africa and a proposed research agenda. The book is an important addition to the literature on hydropolitics.

This Encyclopedia of Land Use, Land Cover and Soil Sciences is a component of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Land is one of our most precious assets. It represents space, provides food and shelter, stores and filters water, and it is a base for urban and industrial development, road construction, leisure and many other social activities. Land is, however not unlimited in extent, and even when it is physically available its use is not necessarily free, either because of natural limitations (too cold, too steep, too wet or too dry, etc.) or because of constraints of access or land tenure. This 7-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, applications and extensive illustrations. It carries state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of Land Use, Land Cover and Soil Sciences and is aimed, by virtue of the several applications, at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

Winner of the Asia Society's Bernard Schwartz 2012 Book Award The battles of yesterday were fought over land. Those of today are over energy. But the battles of tomorrow may be over water. Nowhere is that danger greater than in water-distressed Asia. Water stress is set to become Asia’s defining crisis of the twenty-first century, creating obstacles to continued rapid economic growth, stoking interstate tensions over shared resources, exacerbating long-time territorial disputes, and imposing further hardships on the poor. Asia is home to many of the world's great rivers and lakes, but its huge population and exploding economic and agricultural demand for water make it the most water-scarce continent on a per capita basis. Many of Asia’s water sources cross national boundaries, and as less and less water is available, international tensions will rise. The potential for conflict is further underscored by China’s unrivaled global status as the source of transboundary river flows to the largest number of countries, ranging from India and Vietnam to Russia and Kazakhstan; yet a fast-rising China has declined to enter into water-sharing or cooperative treaties with these states, even as it taps the resources of international rivers. Water: Asia’s New Battleground is a pioneering study of Asia’s murky water politics and the relationships between fresh water, peace, and security. In this unique and highly readable book, Brahma Chellaney expertly paints a larger picture of water across Asia, highlights the security implications of resource-linked territorial disputes, and proposes real strategies to avoid conflict and more equitably share Asia’s water resources.

This book presents both updated and new measurements on water resources from selective pilot areas form the Middle East. Demand for water has become very crucial notably in arid and semiarid regions like in the Middle East. The changing climate and the increased population are the most striking challenges on water resources in this region where the largest part of its territory is dry lands and deserts with minimal precipitation and high evaporation rates, and thus, the average per capita of water does not exceed 25 m3/year. This resulted in developing many studies and researches in different Middle East countries to clearly identify and assess the hydrological characteristics of the available water resources and to explore new resources in order to secure balanced water supply/demand. As a first of its type, this book introduces comprehensive knowledge on the successful reports of the use of satellite images in water studies in the Middle East, and the economic value resulted from adopting these techniques. Based on illustrated case-studies the book will represent a significant resource for a large number of experts, academics, researchers, engineers and different-level stakeholders including the decision makers.

This book presents a unique and up-to-date summary of what is known about groundwater on our planet, from a global perspective and in terms of area-specific factual information. Unlike most textbooks on groundwater, it does not deal with theoretical principles, but rather with the overall picture that emerges as a result of countless observations, studies and other activities related to groundwater in all parts of the world. The focus is on showing the role and geographical diversity of groundwater—a natural resource of great importance in daily life, but poorly understood by the general public and even by many water sector professionals. The book starts by analysing groundwater in the context of the hydrological cycle. Subsequently, groundwater systems as physical units, with their boundaries mainly defined by geological conditions, are reviewed. The next chapter looks at groundwater as a resource, paying attention, among others, to its quantity and quality, to the differentiation between renewable and non-renewable resources, and to the techniques for withdrawing groundwater. This is followed by a systematic documentation of the quantities of groundwater withdrawn and used around the world, and of the corresponding shares of groundwater in each of the main water use sectors. After that, steadily growing needs for groundwater management interventions are identified, resulting from local human activities and global change (including demography, economic development and climate change). Finally, groundwater resources management is addressed and real-life cases are described that illustrate actions taken and experiences with different issues in different parts of the world. The authors attempted to write this book in such a way that it is accessible to a wider readership than just groundwater professionals. It will also benefit non-groundwater specialists who work in groundwater-related fields (water managers, land use planners, environmentalists, agronomists, engineers, economists, lawyers, and journalists), by broadening their understanding of groundwater and making them aware of the huge variety of groundwater settings. Groundwater specialists will use the book as a convenient reference on the geographical diversity of groundwater. Part of the contents or interpretations offered may even be new to them or enhance their knowledge of some aspects. The many maps, tables, and references will save much time for those who would otherwise have to search elsewhere for basic information on the globe’s groundwater.