Dubai, 3rd May 2009 (WAM) - As a major growth center, one of the biggest challenges the UAE is facing is how to meet rising demands for water and energy.
The fifth community lecture of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), which held recently, focused on current water issues at the local, regional and international levels and on solutions to address these issues. The lecture highlighted the need to ensure water availability in the country to maintain its level of growth and meet one of the basic requirements of its citizens. Despite the environmental pros and cons of desalination, it remains the most reliable option for water scarce regions of the planet in meeting demands. Mr. Michel Zabe, Project Development Director at Acciona Agua ME, said that in order to achieve sustainability goals in the water sector desalination processes should adopt technology improvement, reduce energy consumption and use renewable energy sources. Acciona Agua ME is a provider of sustainable development solutions via innovation and the operation of water treatment and desalination plants around the world. Mr. Zabe has also worked for a significant number of years in the GCC, with different companies. Mr. Zabe outlined the critical issues surrounding world water and highlighted critical areas in the world based on water scarcity. He then pointed out that agriculture and industry remain the largest consumers of water in the plane, while showing how water supports various supply chains around the world. He then gave a detailed presentation of different types of water desalination processes, its energy footprint and its impact on the environment. He discussed the multi-stage flash desalination (MSF), the multi-effect desalination (MED), compressed vapor desalination and the reverse osmosis principle. He also described how desalination could be achieved as a product of power generation. The lecture emphasized the dire need to conserve current water resources and apply lifestyle choices and production systems that would contribute to water availability now and in the future. Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, EEG Chairperson, gave an introduction of the water sector of the country. She said, "The monetary and environmental costs of having water available in the UAE are often ignored realities. It is rather ironic to have a false sense of security over the availability of water on one hand while scarcity looms on the other."She also added that to have water for everybody in the country in good quality, quantity and in the right proportion, when they need it, is easier said than done. She then challenged the community to do their share in conserving water, one of the countrys most important resources.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.
