TEHRAN Iranian Energy Minister Habibullah Bitaraf and UNESCO Director General K. Matsura on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment and operation of the Regional Center on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) in Tehran.

Before singing the MOU, Bitaraf said that sustainable development is impossible without water. He added that water shortage problems now extend beyond national frontiers and have reached regional borders, and may threaten world peace in the future.

The Iranian minister also said that water scarcity will threaten food security and human health.

Bitaraf said the establishment of RCUWM with UNESCO will not only help develop water management in Iran, it will also help in the management of water supplies in regional countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, especially in war-torn Afghanistan

Meanwhile, Deputy Energy Minister for Water Affairs Reza Ardakanian told the gathering that if the demand for water and population growth continues to rise at the current rate in the arid and semi-arid countries of North Africa and the Middle East, including Iran, these countries will face a severe water shortage by the year 2025.

Before 1950 the per capita share of water resources was not less than 1000 cubic meters, but because of the rising demand for drinking water around the world, the per capita share of water will decline to less than 1000 cubic meters in North Africa and the Middle East by 2025, the deputy minister said.

He said the Regional Center on Urban Water Management, which was established with the supervision of UNESCO, will serve as an effective step toward promoting cooperation between scientific and research centers in water management.

The RCUWM will help contribute to water management at the national and regional levels, help in the transfer of technology, increase public awareness, and help to evaluate and solve water management problems, Ardakanian noted. The RCUWM is tasked with amassing and disseminating scientific and technical information as well as promoting research on urban water management issues.

RCUWM has also set providing technical consulting and advisory services in the region and beyond as one of its main goals.

The RCUWM agreement between Iran and UNESCO will be in force until 2007 and can be extended. The agreement is also open to revision by Iran and UNESCO.