GENEVA - Irrigated agricultural crops like maize and sugarbeet are draining water in the Mediterranean region at an alarming rate, and could spark serious droughts, the environmental body WWF-International said on Thursday.
The Swiss-based organisation urged countries to revert to traditional rain-fed crops like olives and citrus, and to avoid subsidising irrigation in arid areas.
"If water is not managed more wisely, drought will become chronic and people will suffer more as water for other basics such as drinking, hygiene and cooking will become scarce," it said in a report.
France, Turkey and Syria were listed as the countries leading growth in the region's water demand, which has doubled over the last 50 years while rainfall levels declined by up to 20 percent.
"The crisis in the Mediterranean mirrors the world water crisis," WWF said. "Governments must manage demand and water consumption within sustainable limits, safeguarding nature as the source of water."
WWF-International, with headquarters at Gland near Geneva, is a global organisation, but WWF has national bodies around the world.
Called the World Wildlife Fund in the United States, the group was known as the World Wide Fund for Nature in the rest of the world until five years ago when it adopted the initials as its official title.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
