Abu Dhabi: The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) has praised the adoption of the Water Budget Initiative as part of the National Agenda 2021 by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This initiative aims to balance water use in a way that meets social, economic and ecological needs.
The adoption of this initiative came during an event in Dubai to evaluate the progress made by 36 executive teams assembled by the UAE Government last October to implement the National Agenda 2021. Closely evaluated by Shaikh Mohammad, the teams were given the task to work towards the agenda’s objectives with 52 different national indices over the course of the next four years.
During the event, EAD was represented as part of the executive team for the Water Index, chaired by the UAE Ministry of Energy. A road map was presented consisting of nine initiatives that aim to ensure a holistic approach to water resource management in the UAE. The initiatives cover water demand management, rationing water consumption, establishing a water budget for the UAE, the Rainfall Programme, and the Masdar programme for the development of seawater desalination technologies using renewable energy sources.
EAD Secretary-General Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak said, “Management of water resources have long been a strategic priority for the UAE. As such, and in accordance with the strategic imperatives of EAD, we introduced the framework of using a water budget in order to integrate all water supply taps (desalination, recycled and groundwater) and balance and manage their uptake in the most cost-effective configurations. The water budget approach requires exceptional coordination between water suppliers and astute water demand management of all users; industry, agriculture, forestry, amenities, government and households. The encouragement and support of Shaikh Mohammad and his ambitious uptake of this concept is a bold and necessary step in managing water demand for current and future generations.”
Al Mubarak added, “This approach is expected to have a positive environmental, economic and social impact. First, it will reduce the environmental damage and health impacts related to the depletion of groundwater and the emissions of air pollutants and CO2 and to the discharge of brine to the Arabian Gulf associated to water desalination. Second, it will reduce the fiscal burden from infrastructure investments for water production and the need for government subsidies. Third, it will encourage innovation and will provide investment opportunities for citizens to engage in the sustainable production and use of water.”
She also pointed out the benefits of adopting a water budget approach that will increase the efficiency of water use and improve water productivity, helping to maximise the return from every drop of water.
Dr Mohammad Yousef Al Madfaei, Executive Director of Integrated Environment Policy and Planning at EAD said, “The water budget will help to address imperatives based on forecasted economic and population growth.”
He explained, “In cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and other relevant entities, we will adopt the water budget approach. This will require four steps: to define the sustainable water budget for each sector, study options for the allocation of the sustainable water budget among sectors, agree on a water allocation policy, and balance water use with the water budget. This will require the deployment of a range of public policies to accelerate behavioural change and the uptake of water-saving technologies, as well as building support for the overall water budget approach.
