As for water, God has created only its fixed quantity. The water in rivers, lakes and oceans goes through a cycle when it first exists as vapor in the atmosphere, then, when weather conditions are favorable, it condensates and forms cloud which then in turn condenses further in the form of rain drops. Showering of these rain drops on mountains results in rivers. They are also the source of aquifers beneath arid land.

But there is a problem for water. Its quantity is limited, but the number of people who uses it is on the rise. A man living on desert or forest uses a few liters of water a day. On the other hand, an American man’s daily consumption of water is 700 liters. At the same time, a five-member Arab family consumes 250 liters of water per day — 50 liters for each member.

By this brief account, we can have an idea about the state of water on our planet. Then, coming to the Arab world the situation is alarming. Water has always been scarce in the Arab world, but growing populations place ever-increasing demands on our limited resources.

The latest World Bank report tells us about the extreme gravity of the situation. What are the findings of World Bank?

After carrying out elaborate and in-depth studies, the World Bank says that the Arab world is in need of more than 56 billion cubic meters of water additionally to meet growing demand for home consumption alone by the year 2015. The report showed that some 13 Arab states are among the group of countries with scarce water resources.

This scarcity will be further aggravated with a rapid growth of population in addition to the increased demand for expanding agricultural production. In the GCC region, which is one of the world’s driest and most water-scarce, consumption of water for agriculture will need to increase up to eight-fold to meet population growth.

There is also another major revelation in the World Bank report: About 80 percent of the sources of water in the Arab world lies under the control of other countries. This is a clear indication, according to political analysis, that the Middle East could witness wars for water in the future.

We may have noticed the deadlock in negotiations among the Nile Basin countries recently in Sharm Al-Sheikh. The Nile Basin countries demanded a review of the quota of water being received by Egypt and Sudan that was established in the 1930s.

The situation is grave and the figures are alarming. Shall we expect a catastrophe? Thirst is chasing us. We may wake up one day when there is not a single drop of water in our taps. Then what will we do?