The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is among the areas worst affected by chronic water shortages and, in coming decades, is likely to be faced by the most severe intensification of water scarcity in history. Per capita fresh water availability has decreased by two-thirds over the last forty years and is forecast to decrease by a further 50 percent by 2050. Demographic growth, a tendency to increase food self-sufficiency to reduce vulnerability to imports, price volatility, expanding urbanization, energy demands and overall socio-economic development, exacerbated by the negative impact of climate change and the degradation of water quality, are the main causes behind this intensification of scarcity.

In response to the growing needs of member countries and to help them cope with this enormous challenge, FAO and partners launched in 2013 the Regional Water Scarcity Initiative in the Near East and North Africa. The first output of the Initiative was a Regional Collaborative Strategy (RCS) on Sustainable Agricultural Water Management. This represents a framework to assist countries in identifying and streamlining policies, governance and practice that can sustainably improve agricultural productivity and food security in the region.

The overall aim of the project was to support the RCS by enhancing information and experience exchange in the region, by strengthening countries’ capacities to increase water productivity in selected farming systems, and by establishing the capacity to monitor water productivity via remote sensing (RS). The immediate objectives of the project included an updated architecture of RS-based monitoring systems in the project countries, and a standardized assessment of the water productivity of the major crop systems in each country, followed by an identification of good practices and affordable technologies for the increase of water productivity at farm level. 

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