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Abu Dhabi - The Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD) praised the adoption of the Water Budget Initiative as part of the National Agenda 2021 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This initiative aims to balance water use that meet social, economic and ecological needs.
The adoption of this initiative came during an event in Dubai to evaluate the progress made by 36 executive teams assembled by the UAE Government last October 2016 to implement the National Agenda 2021. Closely evaluated by His Highness, the teams were given the task to work towards the Agenda’s objectives with 52 different national indices over the course of the next four years.
During the event, EAD was represented as part of the executive team for the Water Index, chaired by the UAE Ministry of Energy. A roadmap was presented consisting of nine initiatives that aim to ensure a holistic approach to water resource management in the UAE. The initiatives cover water demand management, rationing water consumption, establishing a water budget for the UAE, the Rainfall Programme, and the Masdar programme for the development of seawater desalination technologies using renewable energy sources.
HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, EAD’s Secretary General said: "Management of water resources have long been a strategic priority for the UAE. As such and in accordance to the strategic imperatives of EAD, we introduced the framework of using a water budget in order to integrate all water supply taps (desalination, recycled and groundwater) and balance and manage their uptake in the most cost-effective configurations. The water budget approach requires exceptional coordination between water suppliers and astute water demand management of all users- industry, agriculture, forestry, amenities, government and households. The encouragement and support of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his ambitious uptake of this concept is a bold and necessary step in managing water demand for current and future generations."
HE Al Mubarak added, "This approach is expected to have a positive environmental, economic and social impact. First, it will reduce the environmental damage and health impacts related to the depletion of groundwater and the emissions of air pollutants and CO2 and to the discharge of brine to the Arabian Gulf associated to water desalination. Second, it will reduce the fiscal burden from infrastructure investments for water production and the need for government subsidies. Third, it will encourage innovation and will provide investment opportunities for citizens to engage in the sustainable production and use of water.
Finally, she pointed out the benefits of adopting a water budget approach that will increase the efficiency of water use and improve water productivity, helping to maximize the return from every drop of water.
Dr. Mohamed Yousef Al Madfaei, Executive Director of Integrated Environment Policy and Planning at EAD said: "The water budget will help to address imperatives based on forecasted economic and population growth."
He said “In cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and other relevant entities, we will adopt the water budget approach. This will require four steps: (i) define the sustainable water budget for each sector, (ii) study options for the allocation of the sustainable water budget amongst sectors, (iii) agree on a water allocation policy, and (iii) balance water use with the water budget. This will require the deployment of a range of public policies to accelerate behavioural change and the uptake of water-saving technologies, as well as building support for the overall water budget approach.
Dr Al Madfaei pointed out that in order to balance water consumption with the water budget; we will need to develop three types of policies:
· Improve the sustainability of the agricultural sector. This will require several initiatives such as: developing a master plan for agriculture to achieve integrated food security in the UAE; providing incentives to shift to low water consumption crops with high economic value; classifying farms into productive and recreational farms; allocating water to farms based on a sustainable crop calculator; and promoting the use of best agricultural practices and technologies.
· Reduce unaccounted-for water and overconsumption. This will require several initiatives such as: developing a programme to detect water leakages to reduce desalinated water losses in distribution networks, and developing plans to reduce the water consumption major water consumers.
· Promote the consumption of recycled water. This will require several initiatives such as: developing a policy to prioritize the distribution of recycled water between consuming sectors; build the required infrastructure for the transfer of recycled water to consumers, setting an appropriate tariff to encourage the use of recycled water, and review local and federal laws to allow recycled water transmission between the seven emirates.
More information on the Water Budget Approach in the emirate of Abu Dhabi:
To reduce water demand to sustainable levels in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary General of the Environment Agency, proposed the adoption of a water budget approach during the International Water Summit in 2015.
The first step to adopt this approach is to define a sustainable water budget for the emirate of Abu Dhabi. With this purpose, EAD provided a Research Grant to the UAE National Water Center at the UAE University to conduct the study “Developing a dynamic approach to water budgeting for the emirate of Abu Dhabi”.
The second step includes studying the options for a sustainable allocation of groundwater and alternative water sources among sectors (agriculture, domestic, government, commercial, industry and environment). With this purpose, EAD, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) and the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC) recently agreed to collaborate to conduct the study “Policy options to reduce water use for agriculture in the emirate of Abu Dhabi”. The results will contribute both to the Water Budget Approach proposed by EAD as well as to ADFCA policies to reduce the pressure on groundwater and increase the productivity of the agriculture sector.
To conduct this research, KAPSARC will adapt the method used for the study “Policy options to reduce water for agriculture in Saudi Arabia” using the data and information provided by ADFCA and EAD. The study will identify a range of scenarios in which water intensive, low-value-added crops are substituted with water productive, high-value-added crops. The results of the original study in Saudi Arabia showed that crop substitution could lead to a 47 percent reduction in agricultural water consumption without compromising food security or aggregate farmer revenues, a scenario that minimizes social and political disruption.
The third step will be to agree on a sustainable water allocation policy to optimise water use. Once agreement is achieved amongst all the key stakeholders, the policy will be drafted and submitted for the approval of the Executive Council.
The last step will be to build support for the water budget approach and deploy a range of policies to accelerate behaviour change and the uptake of water-saving technologies.
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About Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD)
Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of our desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, we embrace international best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. We seek to raise environmental awareness, facilitate sustainable development and ensure environmental issues remain one of the top priorities of our national agenda.
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Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi
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© Press Release 2017
