Dubai: Saudi Arabia and the UAE consume more water per capita than the global average - around six times more than that used in the UK, a new report has claimed.
The report by consultancy Booz and Company puts Saudi Arabia's water consumption at 91 per cent and the UAE's at 83 per cent, and claims that GCC residents and businesses disregarded the consequences of their water usage. It also claims that green golf courses and grassy parks make residents think that water is not scarce in the region.
In reality, two-thirds of water used in the region is desalinated, costing $1 per cubic metre to produce and consuming eight times more energy than groundwater projects, accounting for between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of energy consumption in the GCC, according to the report.
"There is a general lack of awareness in the region, largely because of subsidies that disguise actual costs and obscure the severity of the situation," says Dr. Walid Fayad, a Beirut-based partner in Booz & Company's energy, chemicals and utilities practice.
The only way this will change is if people understand that there is a problem and become part of the solution, he adds.
The report suggests that GCC governments recognise the issue and have begun taking measures to address it. Saudi Arabia, for example, plans to phase out purchases of locally produced wheat by 2016 in order to discourage its growth and reduce the burden that farming imposes on the Kingdom's water resources.
