DOHA: The 15th Gulf Water Conference kicked off on Sunday in Doha. It isan event designed to discuss the best employment of modern technologies for effective water management across the GCC countries.
The three-day event will also tackle the benefits, costs, risks, and obstacles facing the implementation of sound water management.
In an inaugural speech, President of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA), Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, said that the 'Water in the GCC: Embracing Technological Progress' conference, is an important step to discussing leveraging modern technologies to achieve effective water management.
Pinpointing water security as an urgent global challenge that is inevitable for sustainable development, Al Kuwari said that roughly 2.5 percent of Earth's water is drinkable, at a time when groundwater water, the largest freshwater source, is overused and depleted.
About four billion people across the world live in areas hit by water scarcity, with the UNESCO projecting that global demand for freshwater would surpass the supply by 40 percent by the year 2030, he said.
Al Kuwari stressed that climate change impacts including rising sea levels, changing rainfall patterns, and intensifying water cycle, lead to floods and droughts and exacerbate the global water security.
This crisis is worsened by the lack of international water policies and strategies that ensure water sustainability, expand water treatment projects using green technology and apply circular economy policies to manage water resources, he added.
Commenting on the crises faced by Qatar, he highlighted the scarce fresh groundwater due to scarce rain and excessive use of groundwater for planting fodder crops, which necessitated the expansion of the treated water sector using advanced technology.
He highlighted the accomplishments of the Permanent Water Resources Committee since its establishment in 2007, primarily the Water Security Policy and Qatar Water Strategy 2030.
To achieve these goals, which are in line with Qatar Vision 2030, the total water resources reached about 1,155 million cubic meters in 2022, 56 percent of which is desalinated seawater and the rest either groundwater or processed wastewater, Al Kuwari said.
He added that Qatar achieved the sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) related to safe drinking water and sanitation for all, by leveraging the latest international technologies in water desalination plants, including reverse osmosis technology, which currently contributes to the production of approximately 30 percent of Qatar's desalinated water, which has significantly improved water use efficiency.
Eng Al Kuwari affirmed that Kahramaa works to ensure the provision of backup energy generation capacity in the State of Qatar of no less than %10, while pursuing the best international practices in providing ample energy to cover the growing demand for water in view of the comprehensive renaissance the State of Qatar is witnessing.
Kahramaa is committed to water recycling, to pursue the best treatment methods in the tertiary treatment of wastewater, with nearly %75 of water being optimally used in irrigation, agriculture, cooling, and others through applying state-of-the-art and efficiency standards for water use in all sectors and raises awareness about rationalization, regulations, and technology through the National Program for Conservation Energy Efficiency "Tarsheed".
For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Water Science and Technology Society Engineer Abdulrahman Al Mahmoud said the 15th Gulf Water Conference was held under the theme: "Gulf Water: Embracing Technological Progress" in recognition of technology that has an increasing significance in upgrading the efficiency of the water sector and bolstering its sustainability level. He added that the GCC states are pioneering in keeping up the technological advancements and utilizing the innovative technology appropriate for promoting the levels of water production, whether in terms of water quality or distribution to rationalize consumption in all sectors: municipality, drinking and irrigation, whether in their sources such as desalination or groundwater and treatment.
Al Mahmoud added that the GCC states have the highest number in the production of seawater desalination, and are at the forefront of the world’s regions in this field, accounting for more than 40% of global production, affirming that It was necessary to focus on research, studies, desalination methods and the complex details until reaching the maximum level of clean water consumption, as well as highest levels of suitability for consumption.
This is in addition to using cutting-edge technologies in irrigating crops and treating wastewater from various sources so as to make it suitable for use in various aspects, along with the necessary quality control operations and setting standard specifications accordingly, as well as building dams and harvesting rainwater.
Addressing the conference, President of the Arab Water Council Dr Mahmoud Abu Zeid said the conference is a critical platform to confer on the crucial issues that pertain to water management in the GCC states to cope with the latest technology. He added that the conference themes will be able to discuss topics of integrated water resources management, including the expansion of the use of non-traditional water resources, developing water conservation and improving its quality to add a level of knowledge in handling these challenges and understand the methods of leveraging technology and innovation to maximize the use of water resources, such as modern irrigation techniques, water desalination, and improving water recycling processes, indicating that these innovations enhance efficiency in water use and achieve sustainability and rationalization of water resources.
Secretary General at Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) Khaldon Khashman underscored the importance of this convention to further explore solutions for in-depth problems facing the water sector in the Arab region. He called for identifying the challenges that this sector is encountering in most Arab countries.
He highlighted that diligent management of water resources is highly required, along with whole-of-government support, funding from the local societies and think-tank centres and effective planning that considered the best practices in crisis management, noting the role of political instability in the region in precluding the achievement of the UN development goals in some countries, in terms of water security. Khashman blamed the industrial countries for the disasters that spill over from climate change and surge in temperature.
Dr Hamou Al-Omrani from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), noted in his speech on this occasion that water security has become a priority for stability and prosperity for the peoples of any region, adding that the conference being held in an atmosphere which confirms that talking about water security is a priority because water has become used as a weapon for the first time in the region.
