THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS

Triggered by the rise in commodity prices, water scarcity and the high demand for food security, experts expressed the necessity for a series of policy reforms and investment flows to improve the efficiency of water management and food production in the Middle East.

Prince Turki Bin Talal Al Saud, chairman of the board of trustees of the Saudi Arabian Mentor Arabia Foundation, expressed the urgency to address the pressing issues of water supply, global warming and pollution, which will eventually lead to a global water crisis.

"Only through a strict political stance that calls for the efficient allocation of water resources and the collaboration between nations will this eventual water crisis be averted," Prince Turki said Monday during a session entitled “Scenarios Series: How much water do you eat?” at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

“The world will face a big challenge,” Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation said. By the year 2025, food demand will increase by 70-90 percent and the amount of water consumption will double due to the expected population increase.

“We are not using water efficiently, we have to improve water use and productivity [to face this crisis],” Abu Zeid said. He called on all groups of society to work together, as well as the involvement of all stakeholders and the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) to make better use of water.

Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin backed his colleague’s concerns, saying “we are facing a full-blown crisis and we have to have a better understanding of it.”

Mohieldin believes that the solution is to identify financial investments that are willing to finance crops and agriculture.

Since agriculture uses up to 80 percent of water, people must know the value of water through vigorous awareness campaigns.

When this notion is instigated in farmers, “agriculture will be shifted to an economic aspect rather than a social one,” said Raed Abu Al Saud, Jordan’s minister of water and irrigation.

Saudi Arabia boasts that it has passed several agricultural reforms to tackle their water shortage problem. “We target to increase crops per less drops, through green houses and drip irrigation,” said Saudi Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Bin Sulaiman Balghunaim.

“The increase in food prices is a blessing in disguise as it shifts attention to the importance of agriculture,” Balghunaim said. Therefore, nations should support UN organizations to reach farmers around the world to increase productivity using minimal water supplies.

While Egypt’s water crisis may be delayed because of its access to the Nile River, Jordan’s present situation is “not promising,” Al Saud said. He expects that soon water will become a political issue, especially for countries sharing the same water sources.

“This is not a simple issue, it is a complex emergency,” said Neville Isdell, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.

He also agreed said that the private sector should realize its responsibility and adopt a framework for preserving water. Coca-Cola has vowed to reduce water consumption, return all useable water to nature and reduce the levels of pollution in their operations, he added.

Mohieldin assured that Egypt has already established several PPPs, as well as revived agri-finance with local banks in the agriculture and water management domains. However, he warned that all reforms and regional efforts will not yield results if “we keep applying the policies we have today,” he said.

The establishment of a water pricing system is necessary to ensure that people understand the importance of water. “[We need to] stop bad subsidies to enable us to do our job properly,” Mohieldin said.