Dubai, 2nd March 2013 — The UAE under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is mobilising Arab, regional and international energies to develop and conserve water resources, Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, said today.
In remarks on the eve of the Arab Water Day, Bin Fahad the UAE hosted in January the International Water Summit which brought together policymakers, scientists and business leaders to tackle the urgent water and wastewater challenges facing arid regions.
The Arab Water Ministerial Council organises the Arab Water Day on 3rd March every year to urge Arab countries for more work towards achieving water security in the Arab Countries in the way towards sustainable development in the region.
”Acknowledging its water reality and scarce water resources for irrigation, drinking and development purposes, the UAE has made tremendous efforts to make water available for these goals including improving legislative and institutional frameworks that aim to conserve water resources in consistence with principles of integrated water management, conducting research on water resources development, managing and mitigating risks and challenges facing the water sector in terms of increasing demand and consumption, and analyzing the climate change negative impact on sectors like agriculture, water and the environment,” he added.
”The UAE is currently undertaking a national strategy for improving water resources management, replenishing strategic water reserves, developing legislative, economic and technical standards, building local capacities on integrated water resources management and sustainable development of natural resources.” In regards to water projects, the minister added that 116 dams were built with a total capacity of 11 million cubic metres to sustain natural water resources.
It has also utilized the non-conventional water resources with increased use of desalinated water as a key source for fresh water.
”For the moment, the Ministry is crafting along with its stakeholder a national bill for rationalizing fresh water consumption, he said.