International Hydrological Programme

Arab States


IHP in the Arab States


Regional Hydrologist


The UNESCO Regional Offices are responsible for the implementation of IHP at the regional level. Regional Hydrologists are posted in the field and serve as IHP focal points for all issues relating to the Programme, both at regional and national levels. The Regional Hydrologist for the Arab States region is:


Mr. Radwan Al-Weshah
UNESCO Cairo Office
8 Abdel Rahman Fahmy St
Garden City
Cairo 11511, Egypt
Tel.: + 202 794 30 36 / 5599
Fax: + 202 794 52 96
E-mail: r.weshah@unesco.org


National Committees


As a programme with scientific and educational goals, IHP is a cooperative effort, relying on the worldwide efforts of Member States and their designated IHP National Committees to function efficiently.

:: Access a complete list of IHP National Committees in the Arab States


National reports


The National Committees present reports on their activities in the framework of the Programme. These national reports are submitted to the IHP Intergovernmental Council and cover the activities for the intersessional period between Council sessions.

Reports from the following countries in the Arab State region have been submitted for the current period (2006-2008) and are available online:

  • Egypt [PDF format - 33 KB]

  • Jordan [PDF format - 36 KB]

  • Oman [PDF format - 61 KB]

  • Tunisia [PDF format - 120 KB, in French]

  • United Arab Emirates [PDF format - 22 KB, in French]

    • Water resources in the Arab States


    More than 85% of the Arab region is classified as arid and hyper arid, receiving an average annual rainfall of less than 250 mm. The average annual precipitation for the Arab nations varies considerably, between 18 mm/year in Egypt and the Gulf countries and 827 mm/year in Lebanon.

    The renewable freshwater availability in the Arab region is estimated at about 338 km³/year. More than 55% of this amount originates from outside the region. The water availability in this region has played a very dominating role in determining human activities, settlements, socio-economic interactions and growth. The Nile River hosted one of the greatest civilizations on Earth, as did the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The ancient Yemeni civilization is closely tied to water resources availability, and its declination is historically related to the destruction of the ancient Maareb Dam.

    Due to the scarcity of water resources in the region, non-conventional water supplies have been widely adopted in the form of desalination plants, and wastewater reuse programmes.

    A number of international rivers exist in this region. These include the Nile River (Burundi, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda) and its tributaries, Senegal River (Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal), the Juba and Shebeli rivers (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia), the Tigris and Euphrates (Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq), and their tributaries.

    About 20 different aquifer systems prevail throughout the asian Arabian countries and comprise semi-confined/shallow aquifers, and deep confined aquifer systems of different geological formation. Eight of these basins are considered as shared aquifers.


    PUBLICATIONS
    Policies and strategic
    options for water management in the Islamic countries     [PDF format – 1.39 MB]
    This volume contains the proceedings of the symposium organized by the RCUWM, 15-16 December 2003, in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Symposium was a forward step toward founding principles of integrated water resources management in the Islamic countries.

    Priority aquifer systems.
    IHP network on
    groundwater protection
    in the Arab region     [PDF format – 11.09 MB]
    This document has been prepared by a number of experts from the Arab region aiming at disseminating their experiences with respect to research and development, lessons learned and best procedures for selected aquifers in the region.
    LINKS
    International Centre on Qanats and Historic
    Hydraulic Structures (ICQHHS)
    Established in Yazd, Iran, this centre aims to promote research, capacity-building and knowledge transfer on qanats, as well as the preservation of the cultural heritage that qanats represent.

    Regional Centre on Urban Water Management
    (RCUWM)
    Located in Tehran, Iran, RCUWM is a regional scientific organization on urban water management, which takes into account the climatic and other specifications of the Arab States region. The potential impact of the centre is on international scientific and technical cooperation in the region.

    Regional Centre for Training and Water Studies of Arid and Semi-arid Zones
    (RCTWS)
    Located in Egypt, the RCTWS aims to provide information on the science and technology of arid and semi-arid zones and promote policies leading to the integrated and sustainable water resources management at the local, regional, and national levels.