Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa

Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) primarily deals with three major river basins: the Jordan River Basin, the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin, and the Nile River Basin. The MENA region covers roughly 11.1 million square km. There are three major deserts in the MENA region:^[1]

• The Sahara Desert, comprising large sections of North Africa.
• Rub' al Khali, in the southern Arabian Peninsula.
• Badiat El-Sham, in the northern Arabian Peninsula.

Additionally, much of Iran is covered in desert. Average annual rainfall is less than 100 mm in 65% of the region, between 100 and 300 mm in 15% of the region, and more than 300mm in the remaining region.^[1] The conditions that create conflict are only expected to get worse and more complicated, as the full impacts of climate change on the Middle East and North Africa develop over the course of the 21st century.