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Identifying Islamic Approaches to Water Management

2001-05-04

[Photo: Water Management in Islam grew out of a 1998 workshop hosted by IDRC.]

In the Middle East and North Africa, water is rapidly becoming the key development issue. The region has one of the highest average population growth rates in the world — around 2.8 per cent — and scarce natural water supplies. As a result, renewable available water in the region dropped from an average of 3,300 cubic metres per person per year in 1960 to 1,250 in 1996, and is expected to decline to 725 by 2025.

(Naser Faruqui, Water Management in Islam, IDRC/UNU Press)

Water management projects in the Middle East and North Africa are more likely to be sustainable if they take Islamic teachings into account, say Naser Faruqui, Asit Biswas, and Murad Bino, co-editors of Water Management in Islam, a new book published by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the United Nations University Press.

The publication grew out of a 1998 workshop, hosted by IDRC, on water resource management in Islamic countries, where both Muslim water management experts and those of other faiths met in Jordan to derive a general set of principles. Faruqui, a Senior Program Officer at IDRC, says the book dispels "persistent notions" among some Muslims that wastewater reuse and the sale of water is against Islam, and makes some surprising conclusions about Islam's support for policies such as privatization. "It also outlines the conditions and limitations for such policies within Islam, the most important of which is that equity must be preserved or enhanced," he adds.

Cultural influence

In North Africa and the Middle East, Islam is a powerful cultural influence, even in relatively westernized countries such as Tunisia and Morocco, affecting almost every part of daily life. But, until recently, the influence of religious belief and faith had not been considered in the development of water conservation policies or international development projects.

"On the surface, at least, there appeared to be the potential for conflict between [Islamic teachings] and what are slowly being recognized as essential principles for sustainable and equitable water management — in particular, pricing water at a level that reflects its true value, and wastewater re-use," says Faruqui. "Furthermore, other emerging principles such as water conservation, the right of the environment to a minimum amount of water, and community consultation are strongly and specifically supported in Islam. In fact, given that Islam emerged in a water-scarce area, it says a lot about such issues, in surprising detail, which can help inform the development and implementation of such policies.

References to water

One of his discoveries is that Islam's main religious text, the Quran, mentions the Arabic word for water — ma' — some 63 times, and that it is discussed literally hundreds of times in the hadith, the documented sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

At the workshop, scholars from the two main branches of Islam, Sunni and Shi'ite, agreed on all key questions, even if the details for implementing specific measures differed slightly, says Faruqui. "We actually had remarkable consensus among the participants — everything we produced in the book is unanimous."

Fundamental human right

"First and foremost, we found that water is a vital social good and a fundamental human right in Islam, and that water conservation was explicitly encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him," he says.

The workshop participants also found that Islam sets priorities on who has rights to water — i.e., how water should be allocated. The first priority is to quench the thirst of humans. The second is to meet livestock's needs, and the third is to irrigate crops. After that, the environment has strong and specific water rights: Islam states that all species are entitled to an amount and a quality of water that's adequate to their needs, says Faruqui. He adds that Islamic law sets punishments for those who do harm, opening the door for legal penalties against water polluters.

Reusing wastewater

Another major finding is that Islam does not forbid the reuse of wastewater, provided the water is treated sufficiently to render it safe for its intended use. Practically speaking, this means that wastewater that is used to irrigate vegetables grown on or in the ground and eaten raw would require more treatment than wastewater used to irrigate cooked vegetables or tree-borne fruit, which can be irrigated at the trees' roots. The workshop conclusions are consistent with World Health Organization (WHO) standards for re-using water — and wastewater is reused in Saudi Arabia, notes Faruqui.

According to Faruqui, the book's main implications concern water demand management — the idea that governments around the world must focus more on managing demand rather than on trying to increase supply, which is becoming ever more difficult and costly. Islam supports this approach, he says, because the Prophet encouraged people to use water sparingly for important purposes, such as washing before prayer, even if they were taking water from a large river.

Cost recovery

The workshop also found that Islam allows water providers to recover their costs. Water itself cannot be sold, because it's considered a social good and owned by the community. But governments, municipalities, and contractors in the Middle East and North Africa can recover their costs for collecting, storing, treating, and distributing drinking water, and for treating wastewater. The book notes that in Iran, private water companies are allowed to charge up to the average total cost of providing water services. However, they must also provide 25 litres of water per capita per day for free, as a "lifeline tariff."

Faruqui hopes this book will help the Middle East address food and water security challenges. Currently, about 80 % of water consumed in the region is used for irrigation, although with rapid population growth and urbanization, not enough is available for domestic purposes. For example, in Amman, Jordan (and other cities), the served middle class receives water for only a couple of hours, once a week, while the unserved poor pays 10 to 20-fold higher prices from unregulated, private water sellers. To preserve equity, fresh water must be diverted from irrigation to urban areas, and then reused in agriculture as treated wastewater, he argues. While Islam supports the reallocation of water, even through the use of market forces, he believes that governments need to regulate intersectoral water markets.

Local values

Faruqui adds that most development agencies are just beginning to appreciate the importance of understanding social and cultural context, and of incorporating local values into their projects. Religion often affects all of these issues. In the Middle East, he says, the context is predominantly Islamic. But a similar approach to the water management workshop could work, for example, with Hinduism and soil management in India, or Catholicism and family planning in Latin America.

"The broader lesson to draw here is that wherever we are working, it's important to examine the local culture and belief system, and to try and learn from it and work within it instead of imposing our own beliefs," concludes Faruqui. "We've learned that the most sustainable solutions are those that researchers within developing countries develop themselves and that reflect the values of their societies."

Keane J. Shore is an Ottawa-based writer and editor.

If you have any comments about this article, please contact mag@idrc.ca .

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