Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 62

THE REALITY OF WATER SCARCITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST Photo by: ibtimes by Cielo Panda Is desalination the only option to solve water scarcity in this region? Lately, The Middle East has been experiencing numerous environmental concerns, especially so when it comes to water concerns. Water resources in the Middle East are becoming scarce, especially for the millions of people there who have already been lacking access to sanitary water. This includes some of the most water scarce countries in the world: Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. According to The Water Project, these countries have one thing in common, they all lack water resources and have poor water management. The Middle East is known to have some of the largest oil reserves in the world, and this is where most of the area’s wealth comes from. But even if this is so, their geographical climate and environment can be very harsh to live in. The Middle East needs water resources and the proper type of land for agriculture, since most of their land that is available for producing food gets destroyed due to increasing desertification. 62 SEPTEMBER 2016 Clean Water Technologies Desertification Desertification is the process by which rich, fertile land turns into a desert due to drought, deforestation, unsustainable agriculture, and overgrazing. This is a big environmental problem that has vast effects on countries like Jordan, Iran, and Iraq. In this region, agriculture uses 85 percent of water and it has been common to misuse land by irrigation in the Middle East. This is especially so in areas where droughts are more frequent. Overusing water in agriculture can affect the countries’ already scarce water resources. Jordan which is found in the Syrian Desert, and Yemen which is on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, are both enduring severe water scarcity in the Middle East. According to an article by The Water Project, the freshwater withdrawal in Jordan is less than 10 percent than that of Portugal’s average— despite the two countries having the same size. Since there has been a quick shortage of groundwater in the past 10 years, the cost of water in Jordan has increased by 30 percent. Yemen, on the other hand, has one of the world’s highest rates of malnutrition—more than 30 percent of its population doesn’t meet their proper food needs. Over the past few years, Yemen has not been able to produce the right amount of food to sustain its populations. The standard of living in the Middle East has definitely affected the standard of living of its inhabitants. The United Arab Emirates, which is found on the Arabia Peninsula, is world famous for its beautiful, luxurious cities that are full of expensive resorts, shopping centers, and enormous attractions. Because of this, no one would ever think that water scarcity is a problem for these rich states. However, in reality, the UAE is being confronted with a serious depletion of their area’s available water resources. According to a report from the Emirates Industrial Bank in 2005, it said that the UAE had the highest per capita consumption of water in the world. Also, this region’s water table has dropped about one meter year, for the past 30 years. If this continues, the United Arab Emirates will deplete its natural freshwater resources in around 50 years. Although this region has a large amount of desalination plants to help solve water deficiency, it is still important for this region to adjust their water consumption habits before it may be too late.