Under the patronage of Jordan's King Abdullah II, an international conference on water demand management opened Sunday at the Dead Sea resort, organized by Ministry of Water and Irrigation in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development USAID Cooperation and with the participation of more than1,000 water experts from 30 countries.
On the sidelines of the conference, King Abdullah also opened water technology exhibition that displays state-of-the-art technologies of preserving water resources and rationing water consumption including developed software to monitor and control water consumption to benefit from limited water resources.
Addressing the opening session, Jordan Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Nasser said the conference is important because the concern on water scarcity and water shortage is no longer just a "Middle Eastern phenomenon."
"Capital investment in developing water resources will amount to $45 billion by 2025 in the region compared to 20 billion at present, Nasser said. The required increase goes beyond the ability of most countries in the region, therefore regional cooperation on water consumption and
creating an efficient water sector is greatly needed, he said, according to Petra.
He urged countries neighboring the Kingdom to adopt plans
and programs similar to those applied in Jordan to reduce water losses at homes and save about 100 million cubic meters by 2025 and reduce overpumping of underground waters to save 90 million cubic meters each year.
According to the International Water Poverty Index, Jordan is among the first 10 poorest countries in water resources.
Referring the Red-Dead Sea conveyance pipeline project, Nasser said the project needs international funding and a two-year study. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
