The ongoing Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, that concludes today, saw the launch of the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science, a milestone initiative that addresses one of the most urgent problems facing our planet today — water scarcity due to poor rains.
The initiative could potentially lead to increased rainfall not only in the UAE, but also across the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The research programme offers a grant of Dh18.3 million, over a three-year period, to any private or public entity in the world that will find innovative solutions to the problem of scanty rainfall. Its benefits, if regularised through research, are immense.
Cloud seeding has been a significant endeavour undertaken by the UAE over the years. And in promoting research into rainfall precipitation on an international scale, the UAE is not just addressing its own concerns but also of countries that face scanty rainfall leading to droughts, crop devastation, a debilitated economy and depleting food reserves.
With global warming taking its toll on the planet, investment in sustainable methods of replenishing natural resources is the only way forward.
