Green deserts 'drained our groundwater reserves'

Dubai: Greening the deserts in the past may have put untold pressure on groundwater reserves and worsened the water scarcity issue faced by many GCC countries today, a senior environment researcher said.

Water efficiency has to be addressed urgently as the amount of water wasted every day in the UAE amounts to hundreds of litres, said Mohammad Raouf, from the Gulf Research Centre yesterday at the Middle East Waste and Water Congress.

The demand for water has reached an all time high due to rapid population growth in the UAE and applying suitable water management standards are necessary, said Raouf.

"A policy to adjust demand is needed. Penalties and fines are used approximately all over the GCC but this will not solve the problem because there is still a lot of wasteful consumption of water," he said.

"Industries feel they can afford fines or approach top policy makers to make changes. It's sad to say but economic incentives applied in a few sectors, for example encouraging farmers to green the desert has resulted in a very bad experience," Raouf added.

"Greening the desert uses a lot of water. We need to accept our environment and make most of it according to the carrying capacity of the land ... We cannot challenge the environment and green the desert," he said.

Increasing the cost of water is not the solution either, said Raouf, as this could lead to economical, social and political consequences similar to recent issues surrounding food security and prices.

Recycle

Treated water for plants

The importance of using treated waste water for irrigation purposes was highlighted by Dubai Municipality officials at the fifth International Conference of Aquapolises 2008, recently held in the South Korean city of Busan under the banner "For a Sustainable Aquapolis."

Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director-General of Dubai Municipality, spoke on developing a city through the use of water and greenery, maintaining water quality and reusing water. Lootah noted that the economic boom and population growth in Dubai have both vastly increased the consumption of water. The Sewage Treatment Plant's capacity to handle over 500,000 cubic metres of sewage daily has been a great challenge.