Dubai: Research institutions and individuals who can produce safe drinking water through sustainable, affordable and innovative solutions can start submitting their entries in March for a chance to win $1 million (Dh3.67 million) by the end of the year and help water-scarce countries. The UAE Water Aid Foundation will start accepting entries for the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Water Award, an award to find sustainable solutions to water scarcity across the world, on March 22 on the occasion of World Water Day.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the award in 2014 as an offshoot of the UAE Water Aid (Suqia) campaign to provide potable water to five million people around the world. The campaign raised a total of Dh180 million, enough to provide water to more than seven million people.
According to the United Nations, by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity. One in three of the world population could live under water stress conditions.
The UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, San Marino, and Palestine all share the number one spot in the world’s most water-stressed countries out of 167 by 2040, according to the World Resources Institute. Water stress is a measure of the projected total water resources that are available to the population.
The award will recognise projects that are simple and “cheap” to reproduce in any part of the world. These projects can use different processes such as desalination or removing dissolved salts in seawater, or through filtration or purification. The latter will help countries that have freshwater sources but are not safe for human consumption.
“The awards could also be extended to purification of water because we know that in Africa and some areas in Asia they have the water but the water is not clean. So, ideas related to ensure that we have clean water are welcome and this the main thrust of this organisation,” Saaed Al Tayer, CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and shairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Water Aid Foundation, said.
Mohammad Abdul Kareem Al Shamsi, acting executive director of the UAE Water Aid Foundation, said entries should be based on sound scientific data collected over a period of time, depending on the category. (SEE BOX)
“If we talk about research and development, sometimes you have research that exists on paper but this is not sufficient for us unless it is tested and data is gathered for at least six months. There should be a physical aspect to the research to show that the project is measurable,” Al Shamsi told Gulf News.
Al Shamsi said using solar energy in these projects gives the applicants extra points and marks. Other renewables can also be used as per the project design.
For more information, visit www.suqia.ae.
Award categories
Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Water Award Categories:
1) Innovative Projects Award
— Must be practical with measurable results in operation for at least 12 months before the date of submission
2) Innovative Research and Development Award
— Must demonstrate workability or measurability by means of a prototype or pilot in operation for at least six months before the date of submission
3) Innovative Youth Award
— Applicants must be below 40 years old; project should provide proven solution with measurable results in operation for at least three months before the date of submission
