Population growth and expanding agriculture are straining the Gulf’s underground water reservoirs and putting the region at serious risk of drought.
Water experts say Gulf countries need to adopt more advanced irrigation methods, eliminate some agricultural projects and stop expanding existing ones.
Ian Makan, a water and irrigation expert in Arabian Peninsula irrigation
projects, said Gulf countries needed to adopt more advanced methods of irrigation and focus on farming that requires little water.
Makan said his group has begun cultivating alternative plants that grow naturally in the desert and need minimal water. Makan’s group has designed state-of-the-art farms equipped with advanced irrigation systems as an alternative to traditional farming methods.
Makan said water consumption in the Gulf is ten times more than the annual accumulation of rainwater. Consecutive dry seasons, developing economies and changing life-styles have strained the water reservoirs to danger point.
Bahrain’s underground water has dried up and the United Arab Emirates has clear indications that the same is happening, Makan said. With the exception of Saudi Arabia and Oman, all Gulf states have a water shortage.
Mountain rainfall has allowed Saudi Arabia and Oman to renew their underground water, yet both countries need to watch their consumption. This is especially true of Saudi Arabia, where agricultural projects and growing population make it the region's largest consumer.
Studies show that 2500 million cubic meters of usable underground water accumulates annually in Saudi Arabia - some 13.8 percent of the kingdom’s water needs. Saudi sewage purification plants, still in their infancy, produce only 150 million cubic meters of water, not even one percent of demand. Population growth rate in Saudi Arabia was 2.6 percent from 1991-1997 and economic growth is 1.2 percent annually.
Experts estimate the world’s water volume at 1386 million cubic meters. Fresh water makes up 2.5 percent and the oceans salt water makes up the remaining 97.5 percent. Protecting water resources has become one of the greatest challenges facing the modern world. –(Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
