By Xinhua,
Amman : Arab countries are concerned about water resources because of rising demand as a result of ever increasing population and the scarcity of water resources in shared river basins, Refat al-Fauri, Director General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development (AOAD) said Monday.
Al-Fauri made the remarks during a regional conference on water resources management and development in the Arab region, which kicked off on Monday.
UNESCO regional advisor for water sciences, Radhwan al Weshah, said the total population of the region is expected to increase from current 300 million to 500 million in 2025, which will drive the water demand to jump from 205 billion cubic meters a year to about 400 billion cubic meters in 2025.
Arwa Hassan from Transparency International (TI) office in Berlin said sound management of water resources has become one of the greatest challenges of this era and has become crucial for sustainable development.
The four-day conference, organized by the AOAD in cooperation with TI, UNESCO Office in Cairo and the Water and Irrigation Ministry, is aimed to promote integrated water resources management in the Arab region.