Photo for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

Over 22 Arab countries to address impending water crisis at Arab Water Convention

More than 10 Ministers of the Arab countries will participate in the two-day Arab Water Convention scheduled to be held from February 20 to 21 at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai International Financial Centre in Dubai to address the depleting water tables and impending water crisis in the Arab World and how to overcome those challenges. Held under the patronage of the League of Arab States, the two-day event will be convened by Arab Water Council, focusing on non-conventional water resources. More than 600 officials, experts, delegates, and leaders will listen to more than 60 speakers addressing critical regional water-related topics, including in-depth projections of future actions. The Convention is also intended to timely bring all interested parties together to embark on implementing the COP27 outcomes. Governments, financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society must immediately engage in factual dialogues to address the subject. According to the United Nations, around 40 percent of the world’s population is affected by water scarcity. In comparison, 80 percent of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment, and more than 90 percent of disasters are water-related. As the Arab Region witnesses one of the highest rates of water scarcity and a critical freshwater situation, governments are increasing investments in water infrastructure. According to data from BNC Network, more than 200 million people live under water scarcity conditions and 160 million under absolute water scarcity. Nearly 87 million people in the region lack access to an improved water source on-premises. They must collect water from public standpipes and sources, particularly women and girls. Accordingly, the development of desalination projects will continue to be essential to social and economic growth in the Gulf to meet the increasing water demand. Over 75 percent of worldwide desalinated water is in the Middle East and North Africa, 70 percent in the GCC countries, and 6 percent in Libya and Algeria. Collectively, Water Desalination Plant Projects in the MENA region are estimated at USD 39.3 Billion. Convened by the Arab Water Council to address a specific water priority issue in the Arab region, the Arab Water Convention is part of a series of regional events responding to the region’s rapidly changing water challenges. The Arab Water Convention aims to provide a regional and international platform to exchange state-of-the-art technologies, advanced applications, and successful practices on a specific water priority issue in the Arab region facing water challenges. PR/ Expat Media
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