Gulf: political will needed for sustainable water resources

Political will of the authorities to take actions in accordance with science-based policy guidelines for the sustainable management of water and ecosystem resources are necessary pre-requisites for mitigating water-related harmful effects on ecosystems and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the freshwater resources in the Gulf, editors of a new book (Policy perspectives for ecosystem and water management in the Arabian Peninsula. Doha, Qatar, UNESCO Regional Office in the Arab States of the Gulf) say. Four of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar, are rated among the 10 most water scarce countries in the world. Kuwait (10 cum/person/yr), the UAE (58 cu m), Qatar (94 cu m) and Saudi Arabia (118 cu m) rank first, third, fifth and eighth respectively in the world in terms of lowest domestic water availability per capita. The recent formation of the GCC Water Resource Committee is a positive step towards international co-operation. Total water demands are expected to increase 36% over the next decade. Today 91% of the combined total water demand is abstracted from groundwater, 7.2% by desalination of ground and seawater and the remainder from treated effluent and surface water. The book has articles written by a number of experts from the field and is edited by Kamel Mostafa Amer, Benno Boer, Michael C Brook, Zafar Adeel, Miguel Clusener-Godt, and Walid Saleh.