In his keynote speech at the Water Diplomacy Programme, the first course organised by the Arab Water Academy (AWA), delivered on his behalf by Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), Mohammad Ahmad Al Bowardi, Secretary-General of the Executive Council and Managing Director of EAD, stated that water shortage and the race to use shared resources is very likely to reach the point of harming neighbouring countries, which could lead to regional conflicts. Such is the case in the Arab region, where the countries share more than 70% of rivers, sea and underground water, which highlights the urgent need for managing and fairly distributing these resources in a way that protects the interests of all parties, and prevents the rise of dual or international conflicts.
Addressing attendants of the workshop, who included diplomats and senior officials of Water and Foreign ministries, as well as other international organisations, he added that this problem is not exclusive to the Arab World, and that there are over 245 shared rivers that serve more than 40% of the world’s population and irrigate around 50% of arable land. However, there is no international agreement on the laws that control non-navigation usage of water resources. For this reason, building efficiencies in the field of water diplomacy is critical, as it aims to develop a deeper understanding for the issues that need to be addressed by water diplomacy and water management specialists.
He also mentioned that the Arab Water Academy has set objectives that focus on advanced training workshops, including water governance, water diplomacy, unconventional water resources, and investments in the infrastructure of the water sector. While the lack of fresh water has become a global concern calling for a radical solution, which the scientific advancements might be able to resolve in the near future, the Arab World is the world’s most affected region, as its people suffer the most from the scarcity of water resources, and realise its serious consequences. However, people still misuse and waste water, which requires a review of mechanisms to boost the efficiency of these resources.
On this occasion, Dr. Asma Al Qassimi, Head of the Arab Water Academy, said: ‘The Academy is set to play a major role in dealing with one of the greatest challenges facing Arab communities in the present time. Also, the academy will target leaders, senior professionals and decision makers, which will open up new horizons in addressing the issues of demand management, expense recovery, institutional reform, integration with non-water sector organisations, the involvement of the private sector and environmental sustainability, taking advantage of the field expertise of non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives.
David Grey, Senior Water Advisor at the World Bank, said: “This is the world's driest and most water-scarce region, where the average amount of water for each inhabitant is only 15% of the world average. The Arab Water Academy sets out to build a new generation of water leaders, equipped to address the political, economic and social dimensions of water management, not only the technical dimensions of water development.”
The Arab Water Academy was launched in July 2008 in collaboration with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), and enjoys the support of the Arab Water Council (AWC) and several other concerned international institutions, led by the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank.
It aims to be a centre of excellence for advanced scientific and technical cooperation in water-related issues at the regional level.
On another note, Jamal Saghir, the World Bank's Director for Energy, Transport and Water - handed Al Mansouri a copy of the “World Bank’s World Development Report 2010: Development in a Changing Climate”. The report, which was launched in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, said that developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty, but this depends on financial and technical assistance from high-income countries.
