Much of the progress has focused on the development of the environmental frameworks including the necessary legislation alongside improved public awareness and involvement of countries in the region in international treaties and agreements.

The focus now is to translate these institutional gains into transformative action across countries and on the ground in order to catalyze a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "This assessment has been a truly collaborative one outlining the progress but also the realities facing this diverse but also dynamic region where if policies and resources are better focused could be a beacon of sustainable, Green Economic, development for millions of people".

"One factor that is both a persistent but also an emerging challenge is water. The EOAR notes that Arab countries are now among most water-scarce in the world and that there has been a worrying decline in per capita water availability with an average of only 1 000 m3 per inhabitant per year, as of 2008," he added.

"Climate change is likely to aggravate these trends. Thus it is in the interests of nations across the region to constructively engage in the climate change negotiations as countries look to Mexico and the UN climate convention meeting later in the year," said Mr Steiner.

He said a transformation towards a low carbon, resource efficient path offered the best opportunity for not only addressing challenges but delivering opportunities in terms of diversified energy supplies, security of natural resources and the chance to generate new kinds of jobs in areas such as clean energy and natural resource management.

The new report, launched at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, has been prepared in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (LAS), the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), as well as the Arab Specialized agencies and Global Environment Outlook collaborating centers in the region.

It notes that biofuels and food security are among a suite of emerging and intertwined challenges facing the region.

Poverty remains a challenge in most countries in the region and unemployment is wide spread at 13.7 per cent or more than twice the global average, according to the latest estimates.

The report says the Arab region is predicted to be among the hardest hit by the potential of direct and indirect impacts linked with climate change.

Impacts include loss of coastal zones, more severe droughts and desertification, increased groundwater salinity, and a surge in epidemics and infectious diseases.

Dr. Nadia Makram Ebeid, CEDARE Executive Director stresses: "The interlinked environmental challenges facing the Arab region are enormous, but also represent an opportunity for development. There is no contradiction between protecting the environment and achieving economic development. Solving environmental problems contributes eventually to the elimination of a large number of obstacles facing development" she says.

The report affirms that the region's natural resources offer a wide ranging opportunities, if these resources are used rationally and sustainably, and if environmental aspects are integrated into the decision making process.

AFED's Secretary General Najib Saab explained that, "Policy recommendations will be prominent throughout the report, leading to reforms necessary to develop a sustainable water sector in the Arab region." Describing the water dilemma in Arab countries, Saab said that "Per capita share of water is declining due to swift increase in population, major water sources are from outside Arab borders or shared, and most available water resources are already developed," adding that "needs exceed availability, which requires rational use of available sources in all sectors and developing new sources, such as desalination and rain harvesting."

Edited by Dr. Mohamed El-Ashry, former chief of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the AFED water report will be a joint effort of leading experts and research centers across the region and beyond.

AFED Annual conference has become the major environmental gathering in the Middle East, due to the timely themes discussed and the wide spectrum of participants, representing major players from the private and public sectors, along with civil society, academia and media.

The purpose of the project is to improve the institutional capacity dealing with flood protection by implementing tools and developing methodology for the analysis of flooding caused by dam failures with the overall objective of reduction of flood hazards. In Poland there are about 50 large dams of which many were constructed more than 30 years ago, and there is thus a need to review the impact of dam break scenarios in many cases. 

The DHI software product MIKE Flood, that includes 1D and 2D flood simulation engines plus a variety of analysis tools, will be used to meet this purpose. DHI instructors from Prague and Denmark are currently training a group of specialists from RZGW and IMGW in 1D and 2D modelling techniques including modelling of dam-break events (see photo).

Photo: Representatives from Krakow Water board and Polish Met Office in training session with course instructors Julie Landrein and Torben Strange Jensen.

For further information please contact: Jan Kwiatkowski j.kwiatkowski@dhigroup.com