Arab League says water shortage a threat

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD -- Drought and uprisings are threatening to undermine the Middle East's economy, Arab officials said yesterday as they sought ways to boost the region's stability at the start of a key summit.

For the first time in a generation, leaders from 21 states gathered in Iraq for the Arab League's annual summit. Iraq hopes the summit will better integrate its Shia-led government into the Sunni-dominated Arab world, and deployed thousands of soldiers and police across Baghdad to prevent insurgent threats during it.

Economic ministers agreed tentatively to cooperate on proposals for tourism and to deal with water shortages and natural disasters. The proposals, put forward at the opening meeting, still need to be approved by the rulers and heads of government on the final day of the gathering Thursday.

"We are suffering mainly from the lack of finance and some technical problems," league Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said.

In Iraq, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers are drying up, and water resources are strapped across the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates and Jordan say their groundwater is rapidly depleting, and the Dead Sea is drying up, too.

Much of the problem is the failure of governments in the region to manage growth and use of the major rivers.

In Libya, the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's regime last year halted construction on a $25-billion project to pump water to the country's north, said economic delegation official Giuma Rahuma.

"Many farmers are in the north," Rahuma said. "The [Libyan] revolution stopped the project. Maybe it will start again next year, or in two years."

Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali said his country draws water from the Persian Gulf but "it is very expensive" to convert it into drinking water. He said water was one of the top concerns for the region.