Water is essential for sustaining life and enabling development, and in the MENA region, concern over its availability and access is particularly acute. The region is the most water-stressed on the planet, home to 12 of the 17 most water-vulnerable countries, and climate change is rapidly aggravating an already critical situation. These pressures are compounded by the region’s rising development needs, including industrialization, mining, and growing demand from water-intensive data centers. The potential for conflict over water access adds a further, serious dimension to regional, and indeed global, security.
Please join us for a discussion of this vital topic with Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud, an expert in water resource management at the Institute for Water, Environment, and Health at United Nations University, and MEI Senior Fellow Mirette F. Mabrouk. The discussion will be moderated by MEI Vice President for Policy Ken Pollack.
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud is an expert in water resources management and climate adaptation policy in dry regions, including the Middle East, North Africa, and Western United States. As the Middle East Climate and Water Policy Lead at UNU-INWEH, his research focuses on water security, transboundary water cooperation, and climate change adaptation, with a particular emphasis on drylands and the Middle East.
Mirette F. Mabrouk is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, where she focuses on economic development, regional security, and sustainable development issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Prior to joining MEI, she served as the deputy director and director for research and programs at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council.
Kenneth M. Pollack (Moderator) is Vice President for Policy at the Middle East Institute. Dr. Pollack began his career as a Persian Gulf military analyst at the CIA and served twice on the National Security Council, first as Director for Near East and South Asian affairs and then as Director for Persian Gulf affairs.
إدارة التهديدات التي تواجه الأمن الغذائي: المياه والمرونة الزراعية في شمال أفريقيا
