Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia

Reports 10 key findings highlighting important region-specific observations drawn from an inventory of water resources in western Asia:

1. There are more shared water resources in Western Asia than generally assumed.
2. Water quantity and allocation dominate the discourse on shared water resources in this waterscarce region.
3. Water quality is rapidly deteriorating, a fact that is largely neglected.
4. The lack of accurate data hampers joint water resources management.
5. Cooperation over shared water exists, but is never basin-wide.
6. There is not a single agreement on shared groundwater resources in the region.
7. The region’s groundwater is largely non-renewable and aquifers are rapidly being depleted.
8. Groundwater plays an important role in surface water basins, a link which is often overlooked.
9. A new thinking is required to deal with large regional aquifer systems from a shared perspective.
10. It is already too late to save some shared waters.