(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) By 2030, 70 per cent of the world's population will be subjected to water scarcity. With populations still growing fast and the planet's resources, water included, being over consumed, the Middle East in particular is faced with one of its bigest challenges of all times - water.
"Water scarcity, linked to food scarcity and population growth, mounting environmental issues and border water disputes are the biggest challenges we are currently facing," said Dr Mahmoud Abu Zeid, president of the Arab Water Council.
He joined dozens of water experts who gathered in Abu Dhabi for the two-day Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Water Forum which began on Monday. "Some of our interventions to tackle the water challenges include agricultural land drainage, biosaline agriculture and rain harvesting," added Abu Zeid.
Despite its negative environmental impacts, desalination is also growing in the Middle East, as the only solution to depleting ground water.
In fact, according to Abu Zeid, 60 per cent of world's desalinated water is here, in the Gulf. Abu Dhabi still remains the world's biggest water consumer with 614 litres of water per person per day and, with population on the rise, the demand for desalination water, which provides all the drinking water, is expected to almost double by 2030. As per Vision 2030, the Abu Dhabi Government has come up with an efficient management and conservation of water resources plan, which proposes to actually decrease water consumption, despite growth of population and economy, to 450 litres per person per day by 2018 and 340 litres per person per day by 2030 through cutting waste and increasing efficiency of water resources.
While the UAE plans to keep a lid on water consumption, elsewhere in the Middle East ground water is extracted more than ever and new desalination plants are being built.
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