Feature Story Template- Higher temperatures and reduced precipitation predicted for the region will increase the occurrence of droughts
- Rising sea level could affect 43 port cities—24 in the Middle East and 19 in North Africa
- Three areas where the World Bank can help MENA countries address climate change are: Infrastructure investment, knowledge sharing, and policy reform
October 2, 2008 —TheMiddle Eastand North Africa (MENA) is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, due to its water scarcity (the highest in the world), its high dependency on climate-sensitive agriculture and to the large share of population and economic activity located in flood-prone urban coastal zones. According to the latest IPCC assessment, the climate is predicted to become even hotter and drier in most of the MENA region. Higher temperatures and reduced precipitation will result in higher frequency and severity of droughts, an effect that is already materializing in the Maghreb. Climate change also poses many challenges to the region’s cities, which represent hubs for economic, social, cultural and political activities. Rising sea level could affect many of the regions’ coastal cities, particularly in low-lying areas in Egypt and Tunisia. In particular, in Egypt there are increasing concerns about how rises in sea levels might impact the Nile Delta. It has been estimated that a sea level rise of 50 centimeters in the Delta could displace over 2 million people, flood 1,800 square kilometers of cropland, and generate some $35 billion damage in terms of loss of land, property and infrastructure. In addition, strategic water storage infrastructures such as Lake Nasser are likely to be exposed to increased evaporation and more frequent flood risk. Climate Change Strategy for MENA The World Bank’s MENA team is currently developing a regional climate change strategy and business plan, which will articulate for the region the broad directions of activity outlined at the corporate level by the World Bank Group’s Strategic Framework on Development and Climate Change. Overall, the strategy’s objective is to support MENA countries in their efforts to enhance resilience to climate change impacts (particularly in agriculture and water resource management), and to pursue opportunities for low-carbon development, in energy, transport and urban development. The Bank is already contributing, through its regular lending program, to reduce MENA vulnerability to climate change through, for example, enhancing the efficiency of the irrigation sectors (which accounts for over 80% of total water use in the region); and supporting low-carbon energy projects (including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and fuel switching), which in FY07-08 have accounted for 30% of total energy lending. Looking forward, the Bank will further scale up these efforts, bringing to MENA client its ability, at the policy level, to address the development implications of climate change across sectors; and, on the investment side, a renewed effort to integrate climate change considerations into the lending pipeline. Coordinating the Bank’s Work on Climate Change with Other Development Agencies Building on previous experiences of regional programs, such as the Mediterranean Technical Assistance Program for the Environment (METAP), the Bank is working closely with a number of partners in the donor community to set up a regional technical assistance program that would support knowledge generation and sharing –as well as identification of project ideas- on both adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change. The aim is to start operations of the program at the beginning of 2009. Infrastructure investment, knowledge sharing, and policy reform are three broad areas where the World Bank and its MENA counterparts can partner to make a dent in the adaptation and low-carbon development agendas over the next decade. In all these areas, the Bank will work taking into account differences in country circumstances, in particular patterns of vulnerability and diverse ability to cope. For the two IDA countries in MNA; Yemen and Djibouti, the overriding challenge is to balance short term development and poverty alleviation priorities, with action to reduce vulnerability to climate change in the longer term. For middle income countries, the dual challenge for governments and development partners is to mobilize promptly sufficient resources to minimize climate change impacts -especially on the more vulnerable social groups- as well as mainstream climate change in the various reform efforts under way towards the improvement and modernization of infrastructure services provision. |
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