The chronic water shortage in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is a perplexing issue, undoubtedly because various operational sectors, multi-institutions and stakeholders are inextricably interconnected. In ...The chronic water shortage in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is a perplexing issue, undoubtedly because various operational sectors, multi-institutions and stakeholders are inextricably interconnected. In the light of climate variability and the unprecedented population growth rate, the per capita water resources and biocapacity will continue plummeting, and the demand-gap will seriously expand. Existing water quantification agreements have been deemed inefficient to solve the problem of naturally diminishing water resources and thus require immediate re-assembling. Most scholarly endeavors, including key international organizations, NGOs, and “Think Tank” policy briefs have limitedly addressed water shortage in contexts of regional politics, mass media, and, importantly, from social psychology perspectives. Therefore, a thorough analysis and interdisciplinary approach is required to find a feasible and suitable framework of solutions and from a multi-perspective podium. A synthesis of cross-sectorial bottlenecks that are crucial to water management is presented, and a suite of practical recommendations are introduced to water authorities and governments. This study argues that in the shadow of the region’s political instability, the clash of ideologies and its repercussions, and issues of national security and sovereignty, regional cooperation on water issues remain prognostications. In this essence, governments of MENA countries are urged to develop measures to substantially increase the water supply through innovative approaches. Such measures include enhancing the capacities of water harvesting, maximizing the storage capacities of the built dams, and deploying groundwater recharge techniques. Furthermore, seawater and brackish water desalination through clean energy technologies is a contemporary solution with socio-economic and multiple benefits. Multi-billion water projects might not be suitable approach in the absence of external funding and the aforementioned hurdles. Further research is required to address the social economics, and environmental aspects of desalination and the socio-economic feasibility of privatizing drinking water utilities and price polarization.展开更多
Greenhouse gas(GHG)emssions from fossil fuel consumption are driving global climate change.This study applied the fully modified ordinary least squares(FMOLS)model and pairwise panel Granger causality test to explore ...Greenhouse gas(GHG)emssions from fossil fuel consumption are driving global climate change.This study applied the fully modified ordinary least squares(FMOLS)model and pairwise panel Granger causality test to explore the relationships of GHG emissions with gross domestic product(GDP),population,urbanization,natural resource rents,foreign direct investment(FDI),and renewable energy consumption in 12 Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries(Algeria,Bahrain,Comoros,Djibouti,Egypt,Qatar,Somalia,Saudi Arabia,Syria,the United Arab Emirates,Tunisia,and Yemen)from 1990 to 2023.Due to the limited data on renewable energy after 2020,the coverage of renewable energy consumption is from 1990 to 2021.Findings showed that Saudi Arabia,Egypt,Algeria,the United Arab Emirates,and Qatar are the top 5 GHG emitters in the MENA region,with the GHG emissions of the energy sector rising fastest among all sectors.Results also indicated that a 1.00%increase in GDP,population,urbanization,natural resource rents,and FDI raises GHG emissions by 0.48%,0.61%,0.86%,0.29%,and 0.11%,respectively.Conversely,a 1.00%increase in renewable energy consumption reduces GHG emissions by 0.13%.Effective policies promoting renewable energy investment and the adoption of renewable energy could significantly reduce electricity costs and GHG emissions,contributing to achieving climate goals,such as net-zero emissions and environmental sustainability.Additionally,the increase of renewable energy consumption and technology development would improve energy efficiency,create jobs,and stimulate economic growth in the MENA region.This study recommends tailored policy instruments to support the transition to low-emission technologies and strategies.展开更多
We investigated the performance of 12 different physics configurations of the climate version of the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) domain. Possible combinat...We investigated the performance of 12 different physics configurations of the climate version of the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) domain. Possible combinations among two Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL), three Cumulus (CUM) and two Microphysics (MIC) schemes were tested. The 2-year simulations (December 1988-November 1990) have been compared with gridded observational data and station measurements for several variables, including total precipitation and maximum and minimum 2-meter air temperature. An objective ranking method of the 12 different simulations and the selection procedure of the best performing configuration for the MENA domain are based on several statistical metrics and carried out for relevant sub-domains and individual stations. The setup for cloud microphysics is found to have the strongest impact on temperature biases while precipitation is most sensitive to the cumulus parameterization scheme and mainly in the tropics.展开更多
文摘The chronic water shortage in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is a perplexing issue, undoubtedly because various operational sectors, multi-institutions and stakeholders are inextricably interconnected. In the light of climate variability and the unprecedented population growth rate, the per capita water resources and biocapacity will continue plummeting, and the demand-gap will seriously expand. Existing water quantification agreements have been deemed inefficient to solve the problem of naturally diminishing water resources and thus require immediate re-assembling. Most scholarly endeavors, including key international organizations, NGOs, and “Think Tank” policy briefs have limitedly addressed water shortage in contexts of regional politics, mass media, and, importantly, from social psychology perspectives. Therefore, a thorough analysis and interdisciplinary approach is required to find a feasible and suitable framework of solutions and from a multi-perspective podium. A synthesis of cross-sectorial bottlenecks that are crucial to water management is presented, and a suite of practical recommendations are introduced to water authorities and governments. This study argues that in the shadow of the region’s political instability, the clash of ideologies and its repercussions, and issues of national security and sovereignty, regional cooperation on water issues remain prognostications. In this essence, governments of MENA countries are urged to develop measures to substantially increase the water supply through innovative approaches. Such measures include enhancing the capacities of water harvesting, maximizing the storage capacities of the built dams, and deploying groundwater recharge techniques. Furthermore, seawater and brackish water desalination through clean energy technologies is a contemporary solution with socio-economic and multiple benefits. Multi-billion water projects might not be suitable approach in the absence of external funding and the aforementioned hurdles. Further research is required to address the social economics, and environmental aspects of desalination and the socio-economic feasibility of privatizing drinking water utilities and price polarization.
基金the support provided by the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) for facilitating this research
文摘Greenhouse gas(GHG)emssions from fossil fuel consumption are driving global climate change.This study applied the fully modified ordinary least squares(FMOLS)model and pairwise panel Granger causality test to explore the relationships of GHG emissions with gross domestic product(GDP),population,urbanization,natural resource rents,foreign direct investment(FDI),and renewable energy consumption in 12 Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries(Algeria,Bahrain,Comoros,Djibouti,Egypt,Qatar,Somalia,Saudi Arabia,Syria,the United Arab Emirates,Tunisia,and Yemen)from 1990 to 2023.Due to the limited data on renewable energy after 2020,the coverage of renewable energy consumption is from 1990 to 2021.Findings showed that Saudi Arabia,Egypt,Algeria,the United Arab Emirates,and Qatar are the top 5 GHG emitters in the MENA region,with the GHG emissions of the energy sector rising fastest among all sectors.Results also indicated that a 1.00%increase in GDP,population,urbanization,natural resource rents,and FDI raises GHG emissions by 0.48%,0.61%,0.86%,0.29%,and 0.11%,respectively.Conversely,a 1.00%increase in renewable energy consumption reduces GHG emissions by 0.13%.Effective policies promoting renewable energy investment and the adoption of renewable energy could significantly reduce electricity costs and GHG emissions,contributing to achieving climate goals,such as net-zero emissions and environmental sustainability.Additionally,the increase of renewable energy consumption and technology development would improve energy efficiency,create jobs,and stimulate economic growth in the MENA region.This study recommends tailored policy instruments to support the transition to low-emission technologies and strategies.
文摘We investigated the performance of 12 different physics configurations of the climate version of the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) domain. Possible combinations among two Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL), three Cumulus (CUM) and two Microphysics (MIC) schemes were tested. The 2-year simulations (December 1988-November 1990) have been compared with gridded observational data and station measurements for several variables, including total precipitation and maximum and minimum 2-meter air temperature. An objective ranking method of the 12 different simulations and the selection procedure of the best performing configuration for the MENA domain are based on several statistical metrics and carried out for relevant sub-domains and individual stations. The setup for cloud microphysics is found to have the strongest impact on temperature biases while precipitation is most sensitive to the cumulus parameterization scheme and mainly in the tropics.
