NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -This region is home to 15 out of the 20 of the world’s most water-scarce countries. Due to population growth, unsustainable water management, rapid economic growth, and ongoing conflicts, water scarcity in the region is likely to worsen.

Detailed explanation-2: -Universal causes for a spread of arid environment are unsustainable agriculture practices and overgrazing. Agriculture uses 85 percent of water in this region. It is common to misuse land by heavy irrigation in the Middle East.

Detailed explanation-3: -Climate change, increasing water scarcity, population growth, demographic changes and urbanization already pose challenges for water supply systems. Over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions as result of climate change and population growth.

Detailed explanation-4: -The headwaters of over one-half of the region’s annually renewable freshwater resources are located outside of its political boundaries. These resources are concentrated mainly in the river systems of the Nile, Euphrates-Tigris, and Jordan-Yarmouk.