Facing water stress and shortage in the Mediterranean

In the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, water resources are limited and unevenly apportioned over space and time – Southern Rim countries are endowed with only 13% of total resources. Thirty million Mediterranean people, particularly in the South and East, are deprived of access to drinking water. Within a context of worsening shortage in parts of the region and in view of the uncertainties brought about by climate change, the Blue Plan work highlights the absolute need to adapt water management policies, to better manage the different water uses and to ensure more optimal and effective use of resources, if present and future needs of populations and development are to be satisfied.