Beyond Oil: The Hidden Resource Map of the Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa region is often associated with vast oil reserves, but this is only one layer of its complex resource map. In fact, water scarcity may be the most pressing concern for the region's future.

The area has about 6% of the global population, but less than 2% of the world's renewable water supply. Jordan, for example, has only around 60 cubic meters of renewable water per person annually, far below the threshold for absolute scarcity.

Agriculture consumes most available water in several countries, even as cropland contracts and populations grow. Desalination, efficient irrigation, and food imports have become matters of national survival.