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.