Water Diplomacy Alone Cannot Save the MENA Region

Cooperation over shared water resources in some of the most geopolitically contested trans-boundary basins in the Middle East is hampered by prevailing low levels of trust, lack of resilience to climate change, and increased political and security instability resulting from continuing violent escalations embroiling the region. Over 60 percent of the region's population lives in areas with high to very high surface water stress, compared with a global average of 35 percent. Rapid urbanization, changing demographics, and decreasing human security across the most vulnerable communities increase risk factors related to water scarcity and insufficient collaboration across different levels. Actionable water diplomacy can increase opportunities for cooperation over shared water resources in the region and mitigate water and climate crisis. Evidence shows that water diplomacy on its own, however, does not lead to cooperation beyond water issues in the MENA region. It can open new channels of cooperation, but effective cooperation between the technical and political tracks underpins the success of these processes.