Securing Potable Water Supply under Extreme Scarcity : Lessons and Perspectives from the Republic of Cyprus
Cyprus is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Starting in 1960, massive dam development was carried out under the motto “not a drop of water lost to the sea.” This supply-side policy proved its limit after two major droughts hit th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/166941539893383666/Securing-Potable-Water-Supply-under-Extreme-Scarcity-Lessons-and-Perspectives-from-the-Republic-of-Cyprus http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30593 |
| Summary: | Cyprus is one of the most water-scarce
countries in the world. Starting in 1960, massive dam
development was carried out under the motto “not a drop of
water lost to the sea.” This supply-side policy proved its
limit after two major droughts hit the island in 1997-2000
and 2008-09. This pushed for the massive development of
seawater desalination and wastewater reuse through
public-private partnership schemes. As of 2018, the Republic
of Cyprus has successfully achieved potable water security—a
remarkable achievement for one of the most water-scarce
countries in the world. Despite these worthy successes,
Cyprus still faces several important remaining challenges to
move toward fully sustainable water management: (i) focusing
on demand management, (ii) modernizing the financial and
institutional framework, (iii) complying with the EU Urban
Wastewater Treatment Directive, and (iv) developing a
sustainable strategy for irrigated agriculture. |
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