A translated and abridged version of the Arabic article titled: نحو دعم الجهود لتنمية الموارد المائية ومقاومة التغيرات المناخية
The development of water resources and the fight against climate change are among the most topical global issues today. These issues directly impact economic and social stability, particularly in vulnerable regions. Addressing them requires coordinated efforts to enhance water resource management and mitigate climate change, ensuring water security for growing populations and supporting agricultural and economic development—whether through natural sources or alternatives like treated water.
Human civilization has always been closely tied to water. The shift from hunting to herding and eventually to agriculture depended on access to water sources. Major civilizations, such as those in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, flourished along rivers like the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile. Human migration patterns have historically mirrored the availability of water.
Water also played a strategic role in early economic and military conflicts, such as the Punic Wars, where control over fertile lands and trade routes was crucial. Early cities emerged near water-rich areas, leading to the development of infrastructure like canals, public baths, and sewage systems. Epidemics such as malaria and plague were often linked to water scarcity or contamination. In modern times, access to clean water and sanitation is a hallmark of social well-being and urban development.
Water occupies a central place in Islamic values and is seen as a divine blessing and a right for all, and individuals and societies are obliged to protect it and rationalize its use. Islamic teachings show the status of water as the basis of life and a means of achieving justice among human beings. It is not permissible to prevent people from receiving natural water resources, such as rainwater, springs and rivers, or deter them from utilizing them, especially if they are stranded and in dire need of them.
Water also wrote the first lines of the history of Islamic endowment. The people of Madinah were denied water until they paid an excessive price for it, and they were unable to do so until the Companion Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) bought the Rumah well with the encouragement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and endowed it for the people of Madinah for their convenience and mercy.
Water has always been regarded as one of the greatest acts of charity in Islam because of its importance and continuous benefits that last for a long time. Saad bin Obadah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, my mother died, can I give charity for her?” He said: “Yes,” I said: “Which charity is better?” He said: “Watering.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa’ei, Ibn Majah, and improved by Al-Albani.)
Water charity includes digging wells, establishing water purification plants, distributing water tanks to the needy, establishing water fountains in public places and mosques, and other water-related charitable means that are encouraged by the Shari’ah.
In general, Islamic principles have been a global ethical reference that reinforces the commitment to achieving sustainable water resources management and justice in the distribution of water, especially in light of global environmental challenges such as water scarcity and climate change.
Water shortages are contributing to a heightened sense of the impacts of climate and environmental crises through an increased sense of drought. This has led to growing issues of desertification and soil erosion, resulting in the loss of fertile land, shortages of livestock and cattle, and sometimes even loss of human lives, especially children. Drought is generally considered one of the greatest threats to sustainable development, especially in developing countries, where more than 2.3 billion people already face water stress in one form or another and to varying degrees.
Strong evidence supports that human-induced climate change has been a direct cause of increased drought risk, with many human activities leading to an increase in average surface temperatures around the world. Drought is reflected in people of both sexes enduring greater hardship in fetching potable water, especially rural women in developing countries. It is also a cause of significant health risks, especially those related to health, hygiene and sanitation.
Coordinated international efforts have contributed to mitigating climate change through a number of measures, policies and binding international agreements. Such agreements include the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which aims to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and global warming, prevent their production and use, and impose restrictions and penalties on their import and export.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also include targets related to water preservation and climate change mitigation. SDGs 6 and 14 deal directly with water. Goal 6, “Clean Water and Sanitation,” aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, and by 2030 includes the following:
The mission of Goal 14, “Life Below Water,” is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, and by 2030 includes achieving the following:
While it is clear that none of the SDGs are on track to be fully realized by 2030, the same is true for SDGs 6 and 14 as well. As of 2022, 2.2 billion people still face challenges in accessing safe drinking water, while nearly 3.5 billion people still do not have access to safe sanitation. Moreover, successive droughts have been plaguing the world for more than a decade now, exacerbated by climate change.
As for Goal 14, rising carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to ocean acidification, while overfishing of marine livestock continues unabated despite strenuous international efforts to address it, threatening to disrupt ecosystems and contributing to global warming and climate change and their high water costs.
At a time when policy makers and development practitioners are already thinking hard about what the SDGs should address beyond 2030, the escalation of global heat waves and droughts in the past two decades and the accelerating pace of climate change should be taken with the utmost importance. It is very urgent that water-related issues should be at the top of the global sustainable development agenda, because its challenges are present and further complicated by many economic and social factors, such as demographic growth, declining financial resources for development and how to mobilize them, influenced by the high indebtedness of countries, to name a few.
The Islamic Development Bank Group plays a pivotal role as a multilateral development organization whose member countries are some of the most water-stressed countries on the planet, primarily in the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2024, for example, the IsDB signed an agreement with the Republic of Kazakhstan to launch the first phase of investment projects in the development of climate-resilient water resources worth US$1.15 billion, which aims to promote investment in Kazakhstan’s water infrastructure and enhance its resilience in the face of climate change.
The project includes major infrastructure development and capacity building initiatives on advanced water management techniques, in addition to providing climate-smart agricultural training, and is expected to contribute to enhancing agricultural productivity and securing water resources for vulnerable communities, in addition to enhancing Kazakhstan’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Overall, the IsDB Group has actively participated in the financing program for water-related activities in most member countries, with cumulative net approvals reaching USD 7.7 billion as of September 2021, representing 5.1% of the Bank’s total approvals.
Since the start of operations, the Bank has completed nearly 400 water-related operations totaling more than US$2.5 billion, with demand-driven interventions aimed at expanding access to safe water supply and sanitation services in both rural and urban areas. The Bank currently has a large number of active operations in the water sector, with current commitments in excess of US$4.5 billion.
Given its water challenges, the MENA region remains the main beneficiary of IsDB financing in the water sector. While the focus in MENA countries is on improving water supply, sanitation and flood protection services, sub-Saharan Africa is the main beneficiary of water-for-food investments, through the development of small and large-scale irrigation projects.
It is recognized that water efforts should be coordinated between multilateral development organizations and international parties, especially neighboring ones that share rivers, water bodies and territorial waters. This is stipulated in SDG 17, which emphasizes the need to strengthen means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
The endowment sector should be involved alongside the public and private sectors in efforts to mobilize water resources through a number of financial instruments, such as blue sukuk, for example, and the establishment of financial funds that deal with water initiatives, investing in innovative water technology companies that implement major water projects, as well as providing appropriate governmental and tax support for their establishment and prosperity.
It is also worth mentioning the need to allocate greater financial resources to support the current dilapidated water infrastructure in many IsDB member countries. It should also be recognized that climate change and global warming, in addition to decreasing rainfall, have caused a change in the precipitation map, making the location of some dams intended to collect rainfall less efficient than in the past.
Sustainable solutions must be developed to address climate change by strengthening international cooperation and supporting initiatives to exchange expertise and technology within the framework of technical cooperation programs of multilateral development organizations (Reverse Linkage). There is also the need to support public awareness campaigns on the importance of water conservation and rationalizing water consumption, encourage investment in water resources by establishing desalination projects and improving water networks, enact laws to motivate investors, and support research and innovation in water resources development and climate change resilience.
Water has been called the most precious commodity, as it is the element that gives life to the planet, and there is no way to live a decent life if it is lost, polluted, or depleted.
Its loss is also costly because it will be a direct or indirect cause of the cost of living, hindering food security efforts and failing to preserve the environment, whether in terms of providing drinking water, providing sanitation or even threatening marine life. These are all important development goals that IsDB member countries, like the rest of the world, should strive to achieve and secure.
The disruption of water supply in one form or another has enormous economic, social and political repercussions, such as the erosion of water security, reluctance to engage in agricultural activities, widespread unemployment in rural areas, which leads to migration to cities and the subsequent issues of overcrowding and the high environmental costs due to pollution and overcrowding in cities, and migration to neighboring countries at the first stage and to nearby developed countries at the second stage, in search of a better life, regardless of the risks.
This highlights the importance of concerted and coordinated efforts between countries and regional and international organizations, especially multilateral development organizations, through planning for the post-2030 phase, taking into account the lessons learned from the current sustainable development agenda, as water is almost always related to its goals in one way or another.
It must also be emphasized that supporting water resources development efforts and resisting climate change requires partnership between governments, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society through the development of integrated strategies that enable us to ensure the sustainability of water resources and protect future generations from the effects of climate change.
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