Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Every drop counts

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With the global demand for water likely to increase 40 per cent by 2030, it is time for Oman and other Gulf countries to draw up aggressive water management plans to combat the situation.


All the GCC countries except Oman are using in excess of 100 per cent of their available freshwater resources. This situation is not going to improve as the precipitation in the Middle East is to decrease between 5 per cent and 25 per cent by 2050. Thus, recharge of groundwater and replenishment of surface water will decrease drastically.


These are the observations of water researchers and experts, who are making an urgent call not only to conserve water resources but also make serious efforts to find new freshwater resources.


Dr Nadim Farajalla, Associate Professor of Environmental Hydrology at the American University of Beirut cited Catley-Carlson’s study, which talks about a spurt in water demand for by 2030, thus making a strong pitch for full exploration of water resources in Dhofar and harvesting it for day-to-day use.


“The water situation has been compounded by the changing climate in which temperatures around the globe are going to rise and precipitation will fall, leading to diminishing resources coupled with an increasing demand.”


He mentioned these findings in his paper titled ‘Fog harvesting — A viable source of water in a changing climate in arid regions’.


Dr Nadim said the Middle East is considered the most water scarce region in the world due to far more dependence on renewable water resources than other regions. He cited other studies which state that Tunisia is using 83 per cent of its available renewable resources, while Egypt is using 92 per cent, Libya 644 per cent and Gaza 169 per cent.


He suggested fog and dew harvesting as a viable solution for meeting the ensuing water crisis in the Middle-East region. “This ancient technology has experienced a revival in the latter parts of the 20th century and early 21st century. Historically, fog harvesting was known in Palestine, in ancient Greece, in the Canary Islands and in India in the 1600s, among many other places. More recent research has focused on estimating the amounts of water that could be yielded by cloud harvesting and on means of integrating this source of water within the existing water supply networks or as supplementary sources of water.”


Fog harvesting, according to him, is an essential approach not only to provide much-needed additional water but also enable areas to adapt to climate change by conserving and protecting marginal and degraded landscapes.


Water conservation is a matter of concern for one and all. In the Sultanate’s context, water level in the country has gone very low and the country has a water deficit of around 370 million cubic metres.


To achieve its goal, the ministry’s Information and Awareness plan is already in place. The plan lies in information and awareness through education, culture, media, direct contact and training.


The ministry also involves the private sector bodies, which assist the project by funding publications such as booklets, leaflets and posters and sponsor awareness campaigns and symposia.


Experts suggest healthy relations between municipal bodies and the residents to let them know the importance of water. Conservation of water should not be a difficult task in Dhofar as it has 360 natural springs. Dhofar is a major centre for vegetation and agricultural activities in Oman. Annual monsoon keeps the springs recharged, still there is a challenge in front of the officials of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources to conserve them and protect from any kind of pollution.


Kaushalendra Singh


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