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This report examines the impacts of subsidies on the world's stock
of foundational natural capital: clean air, land, and oceans. It
presents new research on the magnitude and impact of these
subsidies, and presents solutions to reform them in efficient and
equitable ways.
The 21st century will witness the collision of two powerful forces
- burgeoning population growth, together with a changing climate.
With population growth, water scarcity will proliferate to new
areas across the globe. And with climate change, rainfall will
become more fickle, with longer and deeper periods of droughts and
deluges. This report presents new evidence to advance understanding
on how rainfall shocks coupled with water scarcity, impacts farms,
firms, and families. On farms, the largest consumers of water in
the world, impacts are channeled from declining yields to changing
landscapes. In cities, water extremes especially when combined with
unreliable infrastructure can stall firm production, sales, and
revenue. At the center of this are families, who feel the impacts
of this uncertainty on their incomes, jobs, and long-term health
and welfare. Although a rainfall shock may be fleeting, its
consequences can become permanent and shape the destiny of those
who experience it. Pursuing business as usual will lead many
countries down a 'parched path' where droughts shape destinies.
Avoiding this misery in slow motion will call for fundamental
changes to water policy around the globe. Building resilience to
rainfall variability will require using different policy
instruments to address the multifaceted nature of water. A key
message of this report is that water has multiple economic
attributes, each of which entail distinct policy responses. If
water is not managed more prudently--from source, to tap, and back
to source--the crises observed today will become the catastrophes
of tomorrow.
The Middle East and North Africa Region encapsulates many of the
issues surrounding water and human mobility. It is the most
water-scarce region in the world and is experiencing unprecedented
levels of forced displacement. Ebb and Flow: Volume 2. Water in the
Shadow of Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa examines the
links between water risks (harmful outcomes related to water, from
droughts and floods to lack of sanitation), conflict, and forced
displacement. It aims to better explain how to address the
vulnerabilities of forcibly displaced persons and their host
communities, and to identify water policy and investment responses.
Contrary to common belief, the report finds that the evidence
linking water risks with conflict and forced displacement in the
region is not unequivocal. Water risks are more frequently related
to cooperation than to conflict at both domestic and international
levels. But while conflict is not necessarily a consequence of
water risks, the reverse is a real and concerning phenomenon:
conflict amplifies water risks. Since 2011, there have been at
least 180 instances of intentional targeting of water
infrastructure in conflicts in Gaza, Libya, the Syrian Arab
Republic, and the Republic of Yemen. Forcibly displaced persons and
their host communities face myriad water risks. Access to safe
drinking water is a daily struggle for millions of forcibly
displaced Iraqis, Libyans, Palestinians, Syrians, Yemenis, and
international migrants in the region, heightening public health
risks. Tanker trucks often help fill the gap; however, significant
issues of water quality, reliability, and affordability remain.
Host communities also face localized declines in water availability
and quality as well as unplanned burdens on water services
following the arrival of forcibly displaced persons. The reality of
protracted forced displacement requires a shift from humanitarian
support toward a development approach for water security, including
structured yet flexible planning to deliver water services and
sustain water resources for forcibly displaced persons and their
host communities.
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