JEDDAH: The 3rd International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments (2008) and the 1st Arab Water Forum will take place in Riyadh between Nov. 16 and 19.
The conference, which also will see the submission of papers for the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, is one of three in November and reflects the rising profile of water as a concern in the GCC region.
The conference is preceded by the Jeddah Water and Power Forum (Nov. 1-4) and the Water and Waste Conference in Abu Dhabi (Nov. 24-26). The Riyadh events will be held at the King Fahd Cultural Center.
The Riyadh conference aims at exchanging data on water, environment and desert between experts from around the world. Now firmly established on the water conference circuit, it has become a center of excellence for the exchange of ideas deriving from the latest techniques in studying arid and semi-arid regions and their water resources.
This year’s conference will explore a wide range of water related issues which include: Water resources and conservation, the impact of climate change on resources, and the management of water crises in the Arab world.
The sessions scheduled will include one at ministerial level, which will look at the issues of water security, sustainable development and strategies and national planning for water resources in the region.
Water concerns are providing increasing challenges for the governments of GCC states and arid areas. In Saudi Arabia alone, some $624 billion investment over the next 15 years will be needed to service a 45 percent population increase to 36.4 million predicted by 2020. This makes water and power investment a priority and this is very much the concern of the Jeddah Water and Power Forum, which is precisely along this theme.
The statistics of the Kingdom’s water supply give clues as to where the priorities lie. Total water supply is 52 million cubic meters per day but water produced by desalination plants is 3 million cubic meters per day.
The first day’s agenda includes a session on the exploration and assessment of groundwater resources and water harvesting and ground water re-charging. The effect of the extraction rate of water from the Kingdoms aquifers coupled with the slow and sometimes almost zero re-charge rate, is that underground water is very much a finite resource.
A session that, if past experience is reliable, will raise passionate debate is scheduled for day four: Transboundary water resources and international treaties.
The issue is particularly relevant in the Middle East region, especially to Palestine, Israel and the states bordering the River Jordan.
