The MENA region loses an annual USD 21 bn because of poor management of water resources and sanitation, according to a World Bank report issued at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Reuters’ Inna Lazareva reports. Poor management of water resources is costing the region about 1% of its annual GDP.

“Water productivity — in other words, how much return you get for every drop of water used — in the Middle East in general is the lowest on average in the world,” says Anders Jägerskog, a co-author of the report. Water subsidies are problematic, as the region’s population pays the lowest water tariffs in the world, and states spend the highest proportion of GDP on public water subsidies, says Jägerskog. Furthermore, over half of wastewater goes back to the environment untreated. Along with better management, desalination and recycling could help. The report says governments could save as much as USD 10 bn every year if better irrigation and water storage and delivery systems are implemented. Agricultural production could also increase by up to 8%. This would benefit Egypt, Syria and Iran the most, as they have the largest tracts of irrigated land regionally.