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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WATERquality of water resources in an economically and environmentallyfriendly way. It highlighted the current farming system and how itsrole in food security cannot be maintained because at the current rateof abstraction it is estimated that groundwater will be depleted in 55years. It also proposed institutional and governance reforms.In line with the aspirations of the emirate of Abu Dhabi to integrateefforts for the efficient management and conservation ofwater resources, a permanent committee for water and agricultureresources was established by decree number 87 of 24 December2009. In 2012 the committee approved the creation of a watercouncil which would be responsible for strategic planning anddevelopment across all the water sources and users. It will playa regulatory and supervisory role as well as a coordination rolebetween its member entities to ensure integrated and coherent waterpolicies in the future. In addition, it will oversee the implementationof strategies and projects to address existing gaps in the mandateof entities, and provide the independent guidance and oversight tocome up with the economically best solutions to meet water needsacross the many economic sectors.Supply-side and demand-side initiatives need to be combinedto be more cost-efficientUntil recently, water policy in Abu Dhabi has been largely based oninfrastructure developments to ensure water supply, water securityand food security. As water scarcity will always be a challenge for theemirate no matter how well water is managed, the Abu Dhabi Waterand Electricity Authority led a project to create a strategic waterreserve to use in the case of an emergency in cooperation with EAD.In 2012, 17 billion litres of desalinated water were injected into theLiwa groundwater aquifer, increasing the capacity to supply AbuDhabi’s emergency water needs from 30 to 90 days.As desalinated water will always play an important role in ensuringaccess to water in Abu Dhabi, new clean water generation technologieswill play a major role in the next few decades to addressdemand. EAD has initiated the construction of 22 experimental solardesalination plants that use brackish saline water from groundwateraquifers and transform it into fresh water through reverse osmosis.Abu Dhabi groundwater assessment project provided information that was used toimprove the regulatory framework protecting groundwaterImage: EADThis water is used as watering holes for wild animals andto irrigate natural vegetation to create food and shelter.These projects provide information about the feasibilityof using renewable energy to supply future water needs.There is no doubt that managing the demand can bea more cost-efficient option than managing the supply,since this will require large infrastructure developmentprojects. In recent years, the Government of AbuDhabi has attempted to rationalize water consumptionthrough demand-side management initiatives. Forexample, in 2011, the ADFSC had the responsibility forimplementing a strategic plan for farmers. The plan aimsto achieve a 40 per cent presence of locally-producedfruits and vegetables in the markets of the emirate by2015 (from the current share of about 15 per cent),and to reduce water consumption by 40 per cent by2013. These targets will be achieved through providingagricultural services to the farmers and strengtheningtheir awareness, as well as helping them marketingtheir products. Another initiative, regulation number7 of 2010, aims to phase out subsidies for the cultivationof crops with high water consumption, especiallyRhodes grass, which was found to consume more that59 per cent of water in agriculture. On the other hand,the ADFSC is working with other entities to introducefeed that have high tolerance to salinity and drought. Itis also working on rationalizing the use of water irrigationfor palm trees, which is the second highest waterconsumer at almost 34 per cent of water consumption,by providing farms with modern irrigation networks.ADFCA is also looking into the use of recycled waterin agriculture and is currently implementing a projectto irrigate 216 farms with it, as it is used well below itspotential in Abu Dhabi. In 2009, only 55 per cent ofrecycled water was used for irrigation, while 45 per centwas discharged to the Arabian Gulf due to the lack ofproper infrastructure for transmission.Believing in the importance and the effectiveness ofthe integrated work and planning, ADFCA and EADhave collaborated to set up the Abu Dhabi ProtectedAgriculture centre to adopt new technologies andpromote the use of greenhouses and soilless agriculture,which uses 90 per cent less water for the samevolume of crops produced. ADFCA and EAD have alsorecently joined forces to develop a high-level strategyand action plan to balance the needs of agriculture withwater availability.Overall, it is clear that Abu Dhabi is dealing withmany challenges that are threatening water security inthe country, especially with having groundwater as theonly renewable resource. With these challenges comemany solutions and opportunities to conserve waterresources while supporting food security and economicdevelopment, mainly by improving cooperation betweenthe different players in the water sector. The growingcollaboration between ADFCA and EAD, in spite of theirdifferent interests, shows the way forward to ensure amore rational use of this precious resource that is moreimportant than oil to meet our basic vital needs.[ 266 ]