(MENAFN- The Peninsula) H E Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry, led Qatar's delegation at the Seventh World Water Forum, along with Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and a delegation comprising officials from Kahramaa and the Ministry of Environment. The forum was held in Daegu, South Korea from April 12 until yesterday under the theme, Water for Our Future.
Al Sada delivered a speech at the opening session in his capacity as the head of the Arab Ministerial Water Council, and underscored the importance of the link between water, energy and food, pointing to the challenges facing the Arab countries, as well as to the solutions, opportunities and practical applications to cope with climatic changes in the water and agriculture sector.
Al Sada said: "When we are talking of Water for Our Future, we are actually talking of the future of water security. The region I am coming from is most concerned about the future water security, perhaps more than any other part of the world".
In his speech, the minister noted that in the Arab region addressing water scarcity is one of the most critical challenges. The challenges are expected to grow due to many pressing driving forces, including population growth, food demand, shared water resources, climate change, and many others, forcing more countries to look for more expensive water sources, such as desalination, to augment their limited fresh water supplies.
Al Sada stressed that water conservation was an issue of paramount importance to Qatar as well as it had one of the world's lowest levels of rainfall and highest rates of per capita consumption.
"Fresh water in Qatar is scarce and most of the water used in homes and business comes from sea and must pass through energy-intensive desalination plants. The Qatar National Development Strategy duly addresses this issue."
Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, the president of Kahramaa, delivered a speech on sustainable development. He highlighted that water and energy were the main drivers of development and were needed to maintain a sustainable economy and growth.
Al Kuwari stressed that smart implementation of integrated water and energy resources management was the key to sustainable development.
"Water and energy efficiency, conservation, and smart grid technologies are the three pillars in the smart implementation of integrated water and energy resources management" he emphasised.
"In the Arab region, water and energy are very much related to each other. According to the International Energy Agency, the water-energy nexus is a critical issue as water and energy are dynamic, interdependent resources. Water is required to facilitate almost all forms of energy production,. Energy is likewise vital to provide fresh water for various uses," he explained.
Every three years, the World Water Forum mobilises creativity, innovation and know-how related to water. Serving as a stepping stone towards global collaboration on water challenges, the forum is a unique multi-stakeholder platform where the water community and policy- and decision-makers from all regions of the world can work together to find joint solutions. It is the largest international event which seeks to advance the cause of water.
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