Publication: Securing Potable Water Supply under Extreme Scarcity: Lessons and Perspectives from the Republic of Cyprus
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2018-06
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2018-06
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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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“Marin, Philippe; Charalambous, Bambos; Davy, Thierry. 2018. Securing Potable Water Supply under Extreme Scarcity: Lessons and Perspectives from the Republic of Cyprus. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30593 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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