Abstract
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) inhabits of one of the most water-scarce regions in the world, once comprised small impoverished desert principalities. However, since the 1970s, the GCC has witnessed rapid population growth and economic development, brought on by sharp increases in oil revenues. Population growth coupled with increased urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural output has placed tremendous pressure on the region’s scarce groundwater resources. GCC countries are all using hundreds to thousands times more water than sustainable recharge would allow. Their water footprints, among the highest in the world, are sustained by unconventional sources of water such as desalination, wastewater reuse, and the import of “virtual” water via agricultural goods. This paper analyzes the current state of water in the GCC using a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach. The paper discusses various proposals for meeting future water needs in the GCC such as renewable energy-powered desalination and foreign direct investment in agricultural land and addresses the various tradeoffs involved.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the United Nations University-Institute for Water Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) for their financial support to the lead author during 2011 that allowed for the conduct of interviews with various experts in Qatar and the UAE that ultimately inspired this paper. Special appreciation is extended to Mrs. Hanneke Van Lavieren of UNU-INWEH for her invaluable support and input.
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Saif, O., Mezher, T. & Arafat, H.A. Water security in the GCC countries: challenges and opportunities. J Environ Stud Sci 4, 329–346 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-014-0178-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-014-0178-8