Source - Middle East and North Africa

Iraq: militants using water to extort “favours” from displaced

07 Sep 07

Many internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps in Iraq are facing shortages of water, especially clean drinking water, and the situation is being exploited by unscrupulous militants, local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) say.

Egypt: widespread protests over water shortages

07 Sep 07

Egyptians without clean water during the summer months have begun mass demonstrations, various media reports from Cairo and rural area said in recent weeks. Protesters demand that the government intervene to end their critical shortages.

Amman Principles on Local Water Governance

27 Jul 07

The Regional Forum on Local Water Governance has adopted seven “Amman Principles” which emphasise locally appropriate solutions and the inclusion of especially vulnerable groups.

Lebanon: Tannoura saved by grey water

13 Jun 07

In Tannoura in Rasha Caza, Lebanon the public phone booth was installed before people received water to their houses. Villagers’ homes have never been connected to the municipal water supply, their ground water is too deep to be extracted economically, and worst of all, their only spring, which used to be their only fresh water supply, is polluted from wastewater infiltration.

Yemen: Qat draws water and life from impoverished people

13 Jun 07

On any given afternoon in Yemen, many men sit, drive or walk the streets with a tennis ball-sized wad of qat in one cheek, looking at first glance like they desperately need a dentist.

Morocco: National Water Council announces national school sanitation and wastewater treatment programmes

18 May 07

Morocco's Minister of Land Management, Water and the Environment, Mohamed Elyazghi, gave the fifth meeting of the National Water Council details of the national initiative for sustainable development. A new school programme until 2015 includes providing water and sanitation facilities in 12,180 rural schools, as well as environmental education to 17,500 schools.