Abu Dhabi: To face water scarcity challenges, the UAE has adopted a multi-track approach based on integrated management of water resources, a top official said here on Tuesday. The national strategy launched by the Ministry of Environment and Water in 2010 to preserve water resources is a step in that direction, Dr Rashid Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, said.
He was delivering a keynote address at a conference on ““Climate Change and the Future of Water” at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).
Various measures in the UAE national strategy include sustainable desalination, efficient use of water in agriculture, optimal use of treated wastewater, regulating the drilling of groundwater wells, prohibiting direct and indirect export of groundwater, building more dams to collect rainwater, modifying patterns of overconsumption in the urban sector with awareness programmes and technical solutions, Bin Fahd said.
The UAE has announced early commitment to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the outcomes of the Kyoto Protocol Extended at Doha. This commitment has been embodied clearly in the UAE Vision 2021, which is an ambitious national vision that aims to promote the status of the UAE as one of the best countries in the world by 2021, Bin Fahd said.
