By Dr Benno Boer, Ecological Sciences Adviser in the Arab Region, Unesco


The fourth edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR4), ‘Managing Water Under Uncertainty and Risk’ was recently launched at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille by Irina Bokova, Unesco director general, and Michel Jarraud, UN-water chair.
The WWDR4 is a comprehensive review of the world’s freshwater resources and seeks to demonstrate, among other messages, that water underpins all aspects of development, and that a co-ordinated approach to managing and allocating water is critical. The report underlines that in order to meet multiple goals water needs to be an intrinsic element in decision-making across the whole development spectrum.
The WWDR4 aims to encourage all stakeholders both in and out of the ‘water box’ - water managers, leaders in government, civil society and businesses – to engage early in decision making processes to improve the quality and acceptance of decisions and the probability of successful implementation.
It highlights that more responsible action by all water users has enormous potential to lead to better outcomes - but requires political, social, economic and technical responses at all levels of government, businesses and communities, from local to international.
About two-thirds of the Arab region’s available surface water originates from outside the region and at times this has led to conflict with ‘upstream’ countries. Water scarcity inevitably leads to concerns about food insecurity given the high demands agriculture makes on water consumption. Imported foodstuffs, particularly grain, account for a sizeable amount of virtual water consumption in this region.
Local cereal production has been boosted by the increased exploitation of groundwater for irrigation. However, as aquifers are drawn down, pumping water is increasingly expensive and unsustainable. Against a background of water scarcity, key drivers affecting the region’s water resources are population growth and migration; growing income, wealth and consumption; and regional conflicts. Water governance in the region urgently needs strengthening to deal with these challenges.
“Climate change is expected to produce increased temperatures and soil aridity and shifts in seasonal rainfall patterns.”
In the Gulf, the water security situation is particularly fragile, due to the climatic situation, with evaporation rates of 3,000-4,000 mm by far exceeding the limited precipitation rates of 0 – 250mm per sqm per year. Ground-water reserves are being depleted. Surface water is rare. The sub-region now depends on seawater desalination. The Gulf has already the highest density of desalination plants globally, and progress in agriculture and population growth will even increase this. New ideas for good water-management are needed.
The Unesco Doha Office has implemented a number of activities raising awareness on the water crisis, and to foster education and technology application in order to improve the situation. The office edited and produced a book with some of the most experienced Gulf Arab hydrologists and ecologists called Policy Perspective for Water and Ecosystem Management in the Arabian Peninsula, jointly with the United Nations University in Dubai, UAE, and Hamilton, Canada.
It has also conducted a conference and published an e-book on Better Buildings: Enhancement of Water, Energy and Waste Management in the Arab States of the Gulf – Globally Applicable. The office is currently engaged in three initiatives towards better management of water resources, such as the Big Tree Society, the International Conference on Food Security in the Dry Lands, and an environmentally friendly farm for cash crop halophytes and biodiversity conservation.

Traditional falaj canal irrigation in the Jebel Aqdar of Oman. Human ingenuity allows for irrigation of grape, apple, peach, pomegranate, walnut, roses, garlic, maize, onions, apricot, and other food and cash crops in a hyper-arid environment. PICTURE: Dr Benno Boer

The Big Tree Society: this is a follow-up activity of the Better-Building-Initiative, aiming to encourage schools, kindergartens, colleges and any other type of building owners to measure and consistently improve their per/capita environmental footprint in terms of water, energy, waste and environmental health. The private sector is encouraged to provide the necessary funding for this voluntary activity.
The International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands is being held in Doha on November 14 and 15. Unesco Doha Office in support of the Unesco Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, as well as the Division of Hydrology is currently supporting the Qatar National Food Security Programme developing the thematic session on water security, and the water-ecosystem-nexus during this important conference.
The Unesco Doha Office is currently in the process of completing a comprehensive proposal with several experienced partners on how to utilise seawater, waste-water and food-waste, all of which is available in abundance and at low cost, for the establishment of a demonstration and research farm - “an environmentally friendly farm for cash crop halophytes and biodiversity conservation”.
It is of great importance to realise the intrinsic connection between the urban and agricultural ecosystems, which are the places of water consumption, the marine and terrestrial ecosystems, groundwater depletion, recharge storage, and seawater desalinisation.
Science-based water management and the application of existing technologies are urgently required. We need to find methods on how to reuse and recycle our waste water, and to remain within the desalinisation carrying capacity of the Gulf, which is exposed to thermal, brine and chemical pollution of its coastal ecosystems.
Building more and more fossil fuel-powered desalinisation plants in the shallow Gulf, which has an average depth of only 37m, cannot be the only answer for water security. A more holistic approach needs to be realised, and wastage needs to be reduced and managed.