View Technical Program - Levant Desalination Association

Dear friends and colleagues:
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the first Levant Desalination Association (LDA)
Conference entitled, “Water Reuse and Desalination: Experience and Opportunity.”
This conference is held under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Syria, H.E. Naji Al
Otri, whose association with this event emphasises the importance his government
attaches to water problems.
This conference is being organised in partnership with NOSSTIA (Network of Syrian
Scientists, Technologists and Innovators Abroad) and with the co-operation of
International Desalination Association (IDA). Both partners are committed, with us, to
create an outstanding event.
This conference takes place in the ancient city of Damascus, reputedly the oldest
continually inhabited city in the world and the city of my birth. This choice is
significant, as this once lush green oasis, with its renowned orchards and many rivers,
now suffers from acute water distress.
We have invited experts, well known on the world stage, to join regional and local
authorities to discuss how problems of the region can be mitigated through the use
of integrated water management and water reuse.
Our programme consists of keynote speakers and panel discussions with
international and local experts. It is our goal that discussions among these esteemed
presenters, with input from conference participants, will create a framework for
immediate urgent action.
The aim of this conference with its subsequent events is to create awareness in the
region of the magnitude of the problems it faces and act as a catalyst for action. Any
sustainable solution will require a partnership between the people of the region
with their government to use the latest techniques, encompassing integrated water
management, demand management, state-of-the-art technologies and various other
tools, to create the conditions for a sustainable future.
We invite all who are interested in solving the water problems of this region to join
us in Damascus for this important programme and participate in subsequent events
that will build on this foundation for change.
Ghassan Ejjeh
Conference Chairman