13 December 2011
MUSCAT -- The International Conference on Drought Management Strategies in Arid and Semi Arid Regions continues for the third day. During the last two days, the conference witnessed a remarkable crowd of attendees.
Organising this conference reflects the Sultanate's government, represented by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resource, great initiative to support worldwide water issues and water resources development. Drought is among the most serious global environmental issues nowadays and its impacts are well-observed in different parts of the world.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resource spares no effort to tackle all water resources issues in a bid to preserve the natural resources of water in the Sultanate. It also strives to ensure sustainable development of water resources.
As the water resources sector is one of the ministry's major tasks, the ministry not only undertakes the important task of harnessing water resources and making them available to communities; however it ensures the people's rational utilisation and conservation of water.
The ministry is also very keen to promote environmental awareness and enhance the concepts and requirements for dealing with preserving and developing the water resources in the country.
Commenting on organising this international conference, Dr Homayoun Motiee, Director, Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) in Tehran, pointed out that "The proposal of holding this conference dates back to the 7th Governing Board meeting held in Tehran in April 2010 which was at the time of severe droughts occurring in the Middle East. I hope these kinds of conferences relevant to water issues could contribute in promoting regional and international co-operation so that countries could mitigate the negative impacts of drought by taking benefit of each other's scientific abilities and experiences".
Dr Motiee emphasised the significance of the participation of managers, experts and decision-makers of around 20 countries in this international conference.
The participating countries include Iran, Oman, Canada, India, Malasiya, Australia, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Netherlands, Yemen, Bahrain, Serbia, Sudan, Egypt, Suadi Arabia, France, Germany and United Arab Emirates.
Dr Motiee noted that this unique international conference reflects the strong will of the governments and non-government organisations to co-operate with each other in different aspects and dimensions of drought management in this critical period of world water management history in the framework of Regional Centre on Urban Water Management.
On the second day of the conference, about 26 presentations and working papers were delivered focusing on various themes such as the international and regional co-operation to mitigate the impact of drought, the impact of drought on water resources and monitoring and planning drought management.
The working papers also touched on the application of GIS, remote sensing for drought, assessing the social and economic effects of drought as well as the innovation and technical strategies to overcome water scarcity and drought management.
The working papers were presented in four sessions held in two different halls so that attendees could have the variety to choose the topics that interest them.
Among the significant topics presented in the first session was the impact of sedimentation on groundwater recharge at Sahlanowt Dam in Salalah.
During this session, six working papers were discussed highlighting different case studies of drought impacts and strategies of drought management in Iran, Yemen, Iraq and the UAE.
The second session discussed drought monitoring, planning and management in six presentations. The presenters discussed various issues such as integrated approach for a sustainable development of the water sector in arid areas, drought management strategies adopted in arid and semi arid regions of India and monitoring of salinity changes in the Salalah coastal aquifer.
In the third session, four working papers were discussed concerning the application of remote sensing.
The audience was briefed on drought effects using remote sensing and GIS in Iran and nuclear techniques in water resources management in Jordan. However, the last session focused on drought assessment, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Five presentations were delivered to shed light on some drought conditions and assessments in different parts of the world.
MUSCAT -- The International Conference on Drought Management Strategies in Arid and Semi Arid Regions continues for the third day. During the last two days, the conference witnessed a remarkable crowd of attendees.
Organising this conference reflects the Sultanate's government, represented by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resource, great initiative to support worldwide water issues and water resources development. Drought is among the most serious global environmental issues nowadays and its impacts are well-observed in different parts of the world.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resource spares no effort to tackle all water resources issues in a bid to preserve the natural resources of water in the Sultanate. It also strives to ensure sustainable development of water resources.
As the water resources sector is one of the ministry's major tasks, the ministry not only undertakes the important task of harnessing water resources and making them available to communities; however it ensures the people's rational utilisation and conservation of water.
The ministry is also very keen to promote environmental awareness and enhance the concepts and requirements for dealing with preserving and developing the water resources in the country.
Commenting on organising this international conference, Dr Homayoun Motiee, Director, Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) in Tehran, pointed out that "The proposal of holding this conference dates back to the 7th Governing Board meeting held in Tehran in April 2010 which was at the time of severe droughts occurring in the Middle East. I hope these kinds of conferences relevant to water issues could contribute in promoting regional and international co-operation so that countries could mitigate the negative impacts of drought by taking benefit of each other's scientific abilities and experiences".
Dr Motiee emphasised the significance of the participation of managers, experts and decision-makers of around 20 countries in this international conference.
The participating countries include Iran, Oman, Canada, India, Malasiya, Australia, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Netherlands, Yemen, Bahrain, Serbia, Sudan, Egypt, Suadi Arabia, France, Germany and United Arab Emirates.
Dr Motiee noted that this unique international conference reflects the strong will of the governments and non-government organisations to co-operate with each other in different aspects and dimensions of drought management in this critical period of world water management history in the framework of Regional Centre on Urban Water Management.
On the second day of the conference, about 26 presentations and working papers were delivered focusing on various themes such as the international and regional co-operation to mitigate the impact of drought, the impact of drought on water resources and monitoring and planning drought management.
The working papers also touched on the application of GIS, remote sensing for drought, assessing the social and economic effects of drought as well as the innovation and technical strategies to overcome water scarcity and drought management.
The working papers were presented in four sessions held in two different halls so that attendees could have the variety to choose the topics that interest them.
Among the significant topics presented in the first session was the impact of sedimentation on groundwater recharge at Sahlanowt Dam in Salalah.
During this session, six working papers were discussed highlighting different case studies of drought impacts and strategies of drought management in Iran, Yemen, Iraq and the UAE.
The second session discussed drought monitoring, planning and management in six presentations. The presenters discussed various issues such as integrated approach for a sustainable development of the water sector in arid areas, drought management strategies adopted in arid and semi arid regions of India and monitoring of salinity changes in the Salalah coastal aquifer.
In the third session, four working papers were discussed concerning the application of remote sensing.
The audience was briefed on drought effects using remote sensing and GIS in Iran and nuclear techniques in water resources management in Jordan. However, the last session focused on drought assessment, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Five presentations were delivered to shed light on some drought conditions and assessments in different parts of the world.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
