 The Middle East is faced with significant water and environmental related challenges. In terms of water scarcity, it has restricted agricultural development, hindered economic growth, and created significant water shortages for domestic supply as well in many contexts around the region. The local population, the most marginalized population, has basically borne the brunt of the water shortages throughout the region. In terms of agricultural development, basically what we've seen is that the Middle East can no longer sustain itself in terms of agricultural production and therefore the deficit in water needs to be made up for by importing crops from the international community. The importation of crops internationally also comes with its challenges though. Those challenges usually relate to the fact that the most marginalized population becomes the most vulnerable in terms of the fluctuations in the market prices, the international market prices. This then in turn places an additional burden on the livelihoods of many of the most marginalized people in the Middle East. In terms of desertification, this has restricted the amount of the irritable land that could be used for agriculture and sped up basically the process of urbanization. With growing populations, the water scarcity has continued to get worse and demand, especially in urban areas, has created a significant challenge in terms of urban water boards being able to deliver the provision of services both in terms of water supply, fresh water supply and sanitation to an ever growing urban population. Scarce water resources in the region has meant that competition has been created between uses, both agricultural use and domestic use but also between countries or in some cases like Yemen, between tribes, between local communities, basically competing over resources that also then feed their livelihoods. In terms of water related infrastructure, much of the region is faced with aging infrastructure that has high unaccounted for or losses in the systems which require significant maintenance to be able to rehabilitate these systems to conserve fresh water and ensure that more water is then provided to the actual end user or consumer. Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world. Competition over resources has basically meant that allocations from the agricultural sector have had to be shifted to the domestic sector to basically meet the growing demand of the population that continues to grow both in terms of natural population growth but as well as waves of refugee crisis that have come over the years. The price of water has continued to increase primarily as a result of more expensive water resources being tapped into or developed, both from deeper depths as well as the transmission costs of transporting water over long distances to urban centres. Agricultural decline has meant that Jordan has basically become more reliant on importing food or commodities from outside and this has left the most marginalised population more vulnerable to the fluctuations in international market prices. Municipal water networks are mostly aging. They date back 30 or 40 years in some cases which has placed extra pressure on the municipal water boards to be able to deliver a continuous supply of water. In Jordan in terms of the Syrian refugee crisis the ICRC has looked to complement what's being provided already by other humanitarian actors. In terms of the water and habitat department basically we've focused along the border to provide essential services for the reception of Syrian refugees. We provide water supply, sanitation in terms of WCs, access to showers, energy to run these transiting sites as well as shelters and health clinics to provide basic services to the people including in terms of water supply, both drinking water supply and wash basins. Water shortages in Lebanon typically happen during the summer periods especially after consecutive years of low rainfall. Water distribution in Lebanon is inequitable although Lebanon is endowed with more water than most other countries in the Middle East. There's serious problems in terms of the allocation of water. The agricultural sector using a vast majority of the water and the domestic sector receiving lower quantities of water in specific areas where water shortages are more prevalent. With population growth in Lebanon ensuring a regular supply of fresh quality water, potable water to the end user has become a challenge. A lack of funding into the domestic water sector has meant lower per capita water consumption in parts of Lebanon like the Bekaa Valley and North Lebanon. These challenges are then exacerbated when consecutive years of low rainfall or drought-like conditions occur. Lebanon historically has relied on the snow cap, the snow in the mountains, for a more regular supply of water in the summer period. Sadly over the past couple of years the snow melt has reduced significantly posing challenges in the summer and creating longer periods of water shortages. The large influx of refugees into Lebanon have basically been concentrated in the Bekaa Valley and in North Lebanon in the early stage of the Syrian refugee crisis. These happen to be the areas that have the highest undercounted for water rates in the country as well as the lowest consumption of water. This has exacerbated the problem significantly and created challenges in terms of the provision of water that is taken care of by the water boards. The ICRC has engaged in the Bekaa Valley and North Lebanon primarily in coordination with the water boards to boost the supply of water to try to ensure a stabilization of fresh water quality to the population. The water and environmental challenges that the region faces pre-exist the Syrian refugee crisis. The Syrian refugee crisis has then exacerbated the existing situation. In terms of the hosting communities, the population is basically faced with increasing prices due to the challenges in providing enough water an adequate supply of water to both the hosting community as well as the Syrian refugees. Some municipalities in Jordan have seen over three years their population double due to the Syrian refugee crisis. This has posed significant challenges in terms of providing an adequate quantity of water to not only the host community but also to the Syrian refugees. This has also meant that the price of water has increased and many communities have had to rely on water trucking being far more expensive than the municipal water supply that they were used to. Water trucking has almost doubled in terms of price in many of the communities in the northern parts of Jordan. Additional to that, agricultural reductions with increasing prices for water supply, for electricity, for food, tensions have mounted between the hosting community and the Syrian refugees that now reside within these communities. In Lebanon, the ICRC has focused its water and habitat program in urban areas to try to address and mitigate some of these tensions, primarily by trying to increase the water supply, by the rehabilitation of pumping stations, water networks to ensure an adequate supply to the population. The prevalence of the water crisis is only expected to get worse, primarily as a result of climate change but also as a result of conflict and migration of both refugees and IDPs. The local population being concentrated in urban centers or as well in refugee camps or IDP centers creates huge challenges in terms of the local water boards being able to supply an adequate quantity of water to the population as well as the refugees. With a protracted conflict in Syria, the humanitarian consequences in terms of the Syrian refugee crisis has exacerbated the existing challenges in terms of water and environment that have been felt in Jordan and in Lebanon. The humanitarian challenge faced by both the local authorities in Jordan and in Lebanon has meant that they have had to provide for a much larger population due to the Syrian refugee crisis, both in terms of providing access to water supply as well as sanitation in terms of wastewater treatment and disposal. ICRC is looking to expand its operations to cover the water and sanitation related needs associated with those areas that the ICRC has focused on in Lebanon and Jordan.