Middle East Water Projects See Foreign Aid from Rich Countries Dry Up

International funding for water projects in the Middle East is drying up as the region faces intense heat and drought.

Funding for water desalination, reuse, and improved management in the Middle East have suffered setbacks in recent years, particularly after the Trump administration cut US$8 billion in foreign assistance when it closed down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Other countries are reducing aid, too, including France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The UK also plans to reduce its aid budget by 40%, reports SciDev.Net.

“The U.S. provides nearly 40% of all international aid,” said Issam Khatib, an international expert in sustainable development. “And now, 13 of the 17 major donor countries have reduced their commitments since 2022, in a clear sign of a downward trend that reflects a deep crisis requiring strategic action by recipient countries.”

Foreign aid is needed to advance water projects in many countries where water is scarce. Water diplomacy experts say natural water resources in Jordan, for example, are only sufficient for three to four million people, while the country’s population numbers around 12 million. While the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project, the world’s second-largest desalination project, was supposed to meet water needs for about four million when it was first scheduled for completion by the end of 2028, the Jordanian government is now searching for alternative funding to complete the project after U.S. foreign aid decreased from roughly $115.6 million in 2023 to just $40 million this year.

“This aid is an international obligation resulting from crises in which Jordan was not involved, such as wars, migration, and climate change,” said Maysoon Al-Zoubi, an expert in water diplomacy and international water issues and former secretary general of Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

“Since most of Jordan’s vital water projects are partially funded by donors such as the U.S. and French agencies, the continued decline in funding threatens the sustainability of these projects.”

Other countries are struggling with similar impacts. In Lebanon, the government relied on a USAID-funded, $73.5-million water sanitation and conservation project to address water losses from aging infrastructure and network deterioration. The project was halted after the USAID withdrawal.

Organizations like the World Bank and the Center for Strategic and International Studies say addressing water scarcity issues in the Middle East is necessary to fulfill basic humanitarian obligations, and to reduce the cycles of violence and conflict that arise from power struggles over the dwindling resource.

Meanwhile, the Middle East is facing severe heat. In August, the Guardian described conditions in Jordan and Israel as “hellish” as the countries experienced their hottest nights on record, with nighttime lows of 35°C and 36°C in some locations.

At the same time, a drought that is the “worst in decades” has dried up rivers and water reservoirs. Farmers have lost yields without irrigation and fishers have been unable to fish in dried-up riverbeds. In Syria, the drought is threatening the country’s recovery from a decades-long civil war, reports the Associated Press.

Cover photo:  Jurgen/flickr