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Water scarcity: Same challenge, different answers

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12
10:00 am April 2021
Add to Calendar 2021-04-12 10:00:00 2024-03-28 12:00:48 Water scarcity: Same challenge, different answers Description Location Policy Center Policy Center Africa/Casablanca public

The Policy Center for the New South is organizing a webinar on Monday, April 12th, at 10:00 (GMT), titled: Water scarcity: Same challenge, different answers.

Water resources have become increasingly scarce in several regions of the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones. Countries located in these regions are constrained by water scarcity due to their hydro-climatic characteristics and intra- and interannual rainfall fluctuations. In addition to these attributes, the negative effects of climate change result in a considerable increase in temperature and a consequent decrease in rainfall. According to IPCC estimates, the decrease in precipitation in these areas can reach up to 20% (IPCC, 2008). As far as temperature is concerned, it is supposed to increase, favoring water evaporation. According to the same source, the increase in temperature will be different according to regions. It will be 1°C in the Maghreb basin.

In addition to the decrease in water availability, its demand is constantly increasing for several reasons. Firstly, population growth, which generates additional and inelastic demand for water. Secondly, the massive urbanization that some countries are experiencing requires a new organization of the sector to supply the cities with drinking water. And finally, the requirements of socio-economic development to achieve the expected levels of growth.

Given these observations, water resource management is of extreme importance in countries suffering from water scarcity, particularly the MENA countries and some sub-Saharan African countries. In front of this scarcity, many governments had put in place policies and programs to manage water to make better and sustainable use of it. In the light of these elements, this webinar attempts to answer the following questions:

  1. What is the situation of water resources in African and MENA countries?
  2. How are governments responding to water scarcity?
  3. How can this problem be addressed in the future and what is the role of technology?

The event will be broadcast live on our website, Facebook and YouTube.

For more information, please send us an email at: events@policycenter.ma

 

 

 

 

10:00 – 10:50   

 

 

Water scarcity: Same challenge, different answers

 

Moderator : Fatima Ezzahra Mengoub, Agroeconomist, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers:

Mohamed Ait Kadi, President, General Council of Agricultural Development

Alexandru Cosmin Buteica, Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank 

Guy Jobbins, Director, Astande

Rabi Mohtar, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South

Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission

10:50 – 11:30

Q&A session

Speakers
Fatima Ezzahra Mengoub
Senior Economist
Fatima Ezzahra Mengoub, researcher, development specialist, and policy analyst, is a Senior Economist at the Policy Center for the New South. She holds a PhD. in Economics applied to agriculture and an engineering degree in agricultural economics both from the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences. Her research addresses agricultural and rural development including agricultural growth analysis, economic structural change, inter and intra-regional agricultural trade, water management, and food security. She has also taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, and decision-making courses at the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences (IAV), the School of Governance and Economics (EGE), and the Faculty of Governance, Economics, and Social Sciences (FG ...
Mohamed Ait Kadi
Morocco
President, General Council of Agricultural Development
Pr. Mohamed Ait-Kadi is currently President of the General Council of Agricultural Development. The Council is a high-level policy think tank of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery, Rural Development and Forestry in Morocco where he has also served as Secretary General and Director General of the Irrigation Department. He is President of the Scientific Committee of the Foundation AAA (Adaptation of African Agriculture to climate change) Mohamed is a member of the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology and Professor at the Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II. He is also a member of the Academy of Agriculture of France, Oslo International Water Academy and the International Advisory Panel of the Bioeconomy World Summit.. ...
Rabi Mohtar
Senior Fellow
Rabi H. Mohtar is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South and Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut, who focuses on Civil and Biological/Agricultural Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Water-Energy-Food Nexus, Water Security and Climate Change. He is also Professor at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas and Adjunct Professor at Purdue University. He is the Founding Director of Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) a member of Qatar Foundation, Research and Development and the Founding Director Strategic Projects at Qatar Foundation Research and Development. He was also the inaugural Director of the Global Engineering Programs at Purdue Uni ...
Guy Jobbins
Overseas Devlopment Institute (ODI), London
Guy Jobbins is Director at Astande and a Research Associate at the ODI in London. His work ‎focuses on institutional, political and social dimensions of water security and climate resilience, ‎with a particular interest in the North Africa and West Asia regions. Previously he was a Senior ‎Research Fellow in Water Policy at the Overseas Development Institute, a Senior Programme ‎Officer with Canada’s International Development Research Centre based in Cairo, and a ‎Research Fellow at University College London ...
Josefa Sacko
Commissioner, Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission
...