Arab countries are looking at water crisis, FAO says

Arab countries are looking at a water supply emergency that they need to urgently address, Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told reporters in Cairo on Thursday, according to Reuters. The MENA region is expected to have its per capita water resources slashed in half by 2050 and needs to switch to water-efficient irrigation methods and step up coordination to avoid a crisis. “[In Egypt] they have 32 ministers. Most probably of those 32 ministers, 30 ministers [handle] water — water is a problem for them. And they don’t have ways to coordinate very efficiently,” Graziano da Silva told the newswire on the sidelines of a meeting of around 20 Arab countries to discuss the issue.