The Arab region suffers from a major threat to water security, that threatens development in the region. Rainfall is low and variable, evaporation rates are high and droughts are frequent, And the desire of some countries to control water. all contributing to low water resource reliability and availability, Arab countries cover 10 percent of the world’s area.
In particular, the Arab States face a double threat as a result of disputes and conflicts in the region. One of the most significant repercussions of these disputes is the threat to water security and hence food and economic security. Most of the world's water resources are shared by source, riparian and estuarine States according to understandings, conventions or customary laws, so that no aspect is affected.
Syria
Known for its rivers, it has been fighting a war for ten years, making its waters loose and hijacked by the parties to the conflict, the first of which is Turkey, which withholds the Syrians' share of the Euphrates River, and its level has decreased to unprecedented levels.
Iraq
Turkey also has a major role in reducing the Tigris River to the Iraqis because of the irrigation projects and dams that it has built as a country of origin. Iran dries up the waters of the Shatt al-Arab and the marshes in eastern and southern Iraq, and lowers the level of the rivers shared between them, which has negatively affected entire governorates, including Diyala and Kirkuk.
Egypt and Sudan
It may be difficult today to resolve the Syrian or Iraqi water file, given the complexities of each file, but the Nile River file, and the Blue Nile in particular, needs a firm Arab stance towards attempts to steal its water shares. The Renaissance Dam is a damaging project that directly threatens the water and economic interests of Cairo and Khartoum, and the Arab League demanded a serious stand by the two Arab countries and a settlement of the dispute, especially in the process of filling the dam.
Egypt does not mind, and even calls for the internationalization of this file, in reference to its legitimate right to demand the preservation of its share of the waters of the Great River, and major countries, including the United States, are concerned about the developments of this file.
Intense meetings held by Egypt with the Ethiopian side to draw up a binding agreement on the rights of the three countries to the waters of the Nile River following the construction of the Renaissance Dam.. But Ethiopia refuses to signing a legal binding agreement with Egypt and Sudan on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Egypt seeks to resolve the problem of the Renaissance Dam in all peaceful ways. However, Ethiopia continues to refuse to cooperate with Cairo and Khartoum and to find a solution that guarantees every country its right to the waters of the Nile River. that GERD crisis as an "unprecedented challenge" to the existence of Egypt. and Ethiopia's stance stems from the support of some international and regional players, including certain states in the Arab Gulf.
Actually, the Arab countries are experiencing a real strategic problem that threatens water supply, agricultural activity, and the production of electricity. The League of Arab States is called upon to offer the weakest faith, which is to denounce all destructive practices and attacks by showing geographical maps and information and changes in its water resources in a transparent manner to the international community. The League of Arab States is an internationally recognized entity with the right to register a position in any case affecting the Arabs.
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