Abstract
The island of Cyprus suffer from a chronic shortage of water. Droughts and insufficient rainfall are commonplace. The growing demand for sweet water and the decline of Cyprus's non-polluted water sources place an additional heavy burden on the island's already inadequate water supplies. The political conflict and the subsequent partition of Cyprus in 1974 have only added to the island's water shortage problems. The issue is further complicated by the fact that Cyprus borders on the Middle East, a region where water conflicts, some of them violent, are a frequent occurrence. These conflicts could affect the situation in Cyprus, directly or indirectly. Turkey, which is a party to several Middle Eastern water conflicts as well as to the Cyprus conflict, is a case in point. All of this poses a serious challenge for Cyprus's water planning authorities. The following article reviews the reasons for the water shortages, examines the island's water systems and considers some of the solutions that might help ease Cyprus's water shortage problems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 76-94 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Mediterranean Politics |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2000 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:population, augmented by 200,000 refugees from the Turkish occupation zone, have served to inspire and accelerate plans for the development of additional sources of water. The total storage capacity of existing water development projects in Cyprus is 300 million m3 per year, with an annual renewable amount of 190 million m3 (The island's storage capacity did not exceed six million m3 at the establishment of the republic in 1960). These projects, whether in operation, under construction or still at the planning stage, are financed by international organizations such as the World Bank, the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and the European Investment Bank. In addition, seeking to exploit to the full these and other water-related programmes, and to develop additional sources of water, Cyprus has also consulted an expert Russian-based company.
Funding
population, augmented by 200,000 refugees from the Turkish occupation zone, have served to inspire and accelerate plans for the development of additional sources of water. The total storage capacity of existing water development projects in Cyprus is 300 million m3 per year, with an annual renewable amount of 190 million m3 (The island's storage capacity did not exceed six million m3 at the establishment of the republic in 1960). These projects, whether in operation, under construction or still at the planning stage, are financed by international organizations such as the World Bank, the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and the European Investment Bank. In addition, seeking to exploit to the full these and other water-related programmes, and to develop additional sources of water, Cyprus has also consulted an expert Russian-based company.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development | |
| World Bank Group | |
| European Investment Bank |