São Paulo – Population growth and local development are turning water supply into one of the great challenges facing the Arab world. The per capita amount of renewable water resources in the region has dropped from 4,000 cubic metres per capita a year in 1950 to 1,233 cubic metres per capita in 1998, according to information supplied by the Arab Water Council. As of 2050, the projections indicate that the volume should drop even further, down to 547 cubic metres. "It is due to excessive population growth," said the executive director at the Council, Safwat Abdel Dayem, in an interview to ANBA.
Thus, there is a strong movement in the Arab countries, involving from governments to the private sector and local organisations, for optimising water usage and ensuring future supply. Presently, more than half the 335 cubic kilometres of renewable water that are used in the Arab world comes from other regions, mostly international rivers. "Almost all countries implement programmes for water conservation and efficient water use," says Dayem.
According to the executive director at the Arab Water Council, sector policies include encouraging user participation in water management. The actions being taken in the Arab world turned to optimisation of water resources include desalination, i.e. removal of salt from seawater so as to make it potable, as well as water reuse. Of all the water consumed in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), 56% is desalinated.
"More desalination plants are under construction in the GCC countries and many long-term plans envisage relying more on desalination in the rest of the Arab countries. Desalination is seen as one of the potential future sources to supply drinking water in other countries. Through research and use of non-renewable energy cost of desalination is expected to decrease," says Dayem. Desalination, by the way, is going to be one of the issues to be tackled by the Arabs at the World Water Forum, scheduled to take place from March 16 to 22 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Arab Water Council is going to be represented at the meeting, which, by Dayem’s estimates, should be attended by some 500 participants from the Arab world. The forum should include a meeting of Arab ministers, on March 19, as well as a stand featuring videos and presentations of the region’s experiences with water. The themes of the talks to be given by Arabs include Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Irrigation, concessions for PPPs in the water area, desalination projects in the GCC, the Arab Water Academy, based in the United Arab Emirates, and climate change.
According to Dayem, the most advanced regions in the Arab world, in terms of sustainable water management, include Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the GCC member countries. The Arab Water Council, by the way, was established due to concerns over water supply in the region. It is a non-profit organisation created by governments, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, universities, and regional and international institutes. Its permanent secretariat is located in Cairo, Egypt.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum