Africa, the cradle of many old civilizations, is the second largest world continent, and the homeland of nearly one-eighth of the world population. Despite Africa's richness in natural resources, the average income per person, after excluding a few countries, is the lowest all over the world, and the percentage of inhabitants infected with contagious diseases is the highest. Development of Africa to help accommodate the ever-increasing population and secure a reasonable living standard to all inhabitants, though an enormous challenge is extremely necessary. Water is the artery of life,...

The great importance of detailed data and their use in generating interdisciplinary scientific knowledge on the development and utilisation of the water systems of the Arab region, with its widespread water stress and desert areas, is well established. With increasing consumption of water in the region backed up by the growing population, the per capita availability of freshwater in the coming years is expected to cause severe scarcity, unless some fundamental and anticipatory changes are introduced in the management of their water systems. Towards that end, such a rich book will prove to be...