Ihsanoglu: Water access crucial for Mideast peace

Ensuring reliable access to water is crucial to promoting peace and security in the Middle East, where many countries are facing dramatic declines in available water, the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, said.” In some regions of the Muslim world, water availability is predicted to be cut in half by 2050 – even without taking into consideration the effects of climate change,” OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in his opening speech at the 2nd Istanbul International Water Forum, held at the Halic Congress Center from May 3 to 5.The OIC chief called for increased cooperation among member states and countries outside the region, announcing the group’s progress in preparing its own “Water Vision” document and forming an OIC Water Council to address water-related concerns. “In its first phase, the Water Vision will outline a framework of cooperation on water-related issues in terms of water-sharing experience, capacity development, technology transfer, water governance and institutional reforms,” Ihsanoglu said.