DUBAI, 22 March 2008 — Natural resources are the real wealth of nations. As is well known, GCC countries are rich in oil and gas reserves; however, they are poor in water resources and arable lands. According to the UN, GCC countries, except Oman, fall in the category of “acute scarcity.” This means that these countries have an annual renewable water capacity of less than 500 cubic meters per capita. Environmental analysts say it is closer to 100 cubic meters. It is expected that supply of water will reach only 67 per cent of demand by 2015.
Physical water scarcity occurs because of the area’s traditionally low annual rainfall. As a result, the region is largely dependent upon unsustainable groundwater abstractions. The major causes of increasing water demand include population growth and rapid urbanization, and wasteful consumption patterns both in domestic, industrial and agriculture sectors. Besides, the efficiency of water systems, when compared to those in other parts of the world, could be improved. While the supply of water is short because of natural and climatic conditions, water consumption in the GCC countries ranges between 300 and 750 liters per person per day, which is among the highest in the world. Water policies need a lot of reform. Water scarcity, water quality, aquifers’ pollution, and water for agriculture are among the most important water issues today in the GCC.
Agriculture accounted for just 3.3 percent of the UAE’s GDP, less than 1 percent of Kuwait’s and about 6.5 percent of KSA. However, agriculture continues to be the prime water-consuming sector in the GCC. In fact, agricultural water use has increased from about 73.5 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 1990 to over 90 BCM in 2000, exerting immense pressure on the limited water resources in the region. The policy of food self-sufficiency imposes constraints on the allocation of water resources and prevents its diversion from the agricultural sector to the domestic or industrial sectors. However, there is a little scope for expansion in the agriculture sector in the GCC region.
It is worth mentioning that many corporate companies and environmental NGOs across the region have embraced programs for greening deserts. This is an unwise solution in a water-scarce country. Further, there are a number of priorities in relation to water policy that could be adopted by policy-makers for maintaining water resources.
For example, regional cooperation and joint projects will ensure that the possible consequences of water policies are anticipated and examined and water issues are included in countries’ interests.
Needless to say, in Arab/Islamic societies such as in the GCC, efforts to increase awareness and find solutions to water scarcity should have been easy because of religious reasons as many Qur’an verses encourage the preservation and protection of water, a precious commodity, even during the mandatory ablution before prayers. The use of religious guidelines must be an integral part of any awareness campaign.
— Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf Abdel Hamid is senior environment researcher, Gulf Research Center.