Abstract
Iraq is one of the Middle East and North African countries (MENA region). The country is currently facing a serious water shortage problem. This problem is expected to be more severe in the future where the supply is predicted to be 43 and 17.61 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) in 2015 and 2025 respectively while current demand is estimated to be between 66.8 and 77 BCM. It has been estimated that the Tigris and Euphrates river discharges will continue to decrease with time, and they will be completely dry by 2040. Serious, prudent and quick measures need to be taken to overcome this problem. The government should take measures to have a strategic water management vision, including regional cooperation and coordination, research and development, improving agriculture and sanitation sector as well as public awareness program. These measures are required in order to address the following topics: Strategic Water Management Vision, Regional cooperation and coordination, Irrigation and Agriculture, Water Supply and Sanitation, and Research and Development.
Highlights
Middle East and North African countries (MENA region) are considered to be arid or semi-arid as the average annual rainfall does not exceed 166 mm [1,2]
The country is currently facing a serious water shortage problem. This problem is expected to be more severe in the future where the supply is predicted to be 43 and 17.61 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) in 2015 and 2025 respectively while current demand is estimated to be between 66.8 and 77 BCM
It has been estimated that the Tigris and Euphrates river discharges will continue to decrease with time, and they will be completely dry by 2040
Summary
Middle East and North African countries (MENA region) are considered to be arid or semi-arid as the average annual rainfall does not exceed 166 mm [1,2]. Iraq is located in the eastern part of the MENA region It is surrounded by Iran in the east, Turkey to the north, Syria and Jordan to the west, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south and the Gulf to the southeast (Figure 1).The total area of Iraq is 438,320 km of which 924 km of inland water. The Rivers Tigris and Euphrates form the main water resources of Iraq. They join together in the south forming what is referred to as the Shat Alarab, which drains towards the Gulf (Figure 1). The remainder, only 8%, is from internal sources (Figure 6).The average annual flow of the Euphrates and Tigris is estimated to be about 30 km (which might fluctuate from 10 to 40 km3) for the former and 21.2 km for the latter when it enters Iraq. The difficulties facing Iraq will be reviewed and discussed, and recommendations will be given to solve the problems of water resources in Iraq
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