The Water Demand Initiative for the Middle East and North Africa (WaDImena) is a regional research initiative part of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) which aims to promote the management of water demand in the region. WaDImena currently works in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Yemen.
WaDImena advocates methods that focus on improving water-use efficiency, equity, and sustainability of existing water resources. It’s aims include:
- improve research into water demand management and increasing the knowledge base in this area
- create incentives for the practical application of the research and knowledge in specific contexts, with particular focus on women and the rural poor
- enhance the development of skills and strengthen individual and institutional capacity to implement water demand management
- create a viable network to share experiences, foster dialogue and promote partnerships among key actors
- strengthen relations and collaborative arrangements with national, regional and international water governance programmes to advance the water demand management agenda