JEDDAH: Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, yesterday called for a world summit to deal with an impending global water crisis and sought measures to prevent the effects of climate change on water and water resources.
Inaugurating the Third International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments and the First Arab Water Forum in Riyadh, Prince Khaled urged Arab countries to take precautions against possible terror attacks on water resources.
“Terrorists may target water resources and destroy desalination plants or poison rivers, pipelines, wells and underground water. I call on you, being the decision makers, to take necessary steps to confront such threats,” he said.
Speaking about the effects of climate change on water resources, the prince said: “Climate is the main factor for rains, the basic requirement for economic and social development. It will be the first to be affected by climate change and the Arab world would not escape this phenomenon.”
The conference will discuss topics such as sedimentation control in surface water systems, exploration of ground water resources, innovative desalinization methods, alternative water resources and their associated technologies, and surface and groundwater monitoring systems.
Other major topics to be addressed by the four-day conference are: Water conservation in the agricultural and industrial sectors, modern technologies for water conservation and loss-minimization in drinking water infrastructures, climate change and its impact on water resources and arid environments, and how to control desertification.
Prince Khaled honored the conference’s sponsors before opening an exhibition staged on the occasion. Later speaking to reporters, he said Saudi Arabia’s hosting of this international conference reflected its keenness to preserve water resources.
He emphasized the need to protect water resources and prevent its wastage.
Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen said the demand for water increased three times during the second half of the last century when the world population increased from 2.5 billion to six billion.
