Groundwater governance meeting begins

Manama : Arabian Gulf University (AGU) President Dr Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Ohali yesterday opened a regional meeting of experts on ‘capacity building in groundwater governance’ organised by AGU in collaboration with UNESCO Cairo office and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) regional office for the Near East. The event will continue until October 4 and will feature representatives from 13 Arab countries as well as six regional organisations.

 The meeting is aimed at assessing the current status of human and institutional capacities of groundwater resources management and governance in the Arab region, at local and national levels, as well as to chart a road map for the development of implementable capacities to support Arab countries in their efforts to achieve the common global vision of groundwater governance.

 In addition to the development of an innovative regional framework to create synergies between countries and stakeholders in the region’s groundwater, including UN agencies and development partners, the meeting will focus on capacity development and bridging the information gap in support of sustainable management and public trusteeship over groundwater resources in the Arab region.

 In his opening statement, Dr Al-Ohali stressed the University’s commitment to addressing the issues and challenges faced by the GCC countries and the Arab world in general, through its academic programmes, research and training programmes, and collaborating with specialised international and regional organisations. He pointed to fruitful and constructive cooperation in the areas of capacity building of national cadre in cooperation and partnership with regional organisations active in the region in the fields of specialisation of the university.

 In contrast to surface water resources, groundwater management is relatively difficult for several reasons, the most important of which are: the difficulty of observing it because of its underground presence; its extensive extension, which makes each person exploits it; the deterioration in its quality and contamination as well as the impossibility of returning it to its former state if exposed to drying or contamination, according to Dr Al-Ohali. “Therefore, the conservation of groundwater requires high-level of technical management and takes into account aspects and social, economic and political considerations,” he said.

 On his part, the coordinator of the meeting, Professor of Water Resources at the College of Graduate Studies at AGU, Dr Waleed Zubari, pointed out that many Arab countries rely heavily on groundwater to meet their water requirements for economic and social development with over 80 per cent groundwater dependence.  

“The Arab region is not the only one facing these challenges in the management and governance of groundwater; most countries of the world suffer from these challenges, albeit to varying degrees,” he said, adding: “For this reason, a Global Framework For Groundwater Governance was recently developed by UN organisations and the World Bank in 2016, the result of extensive regional consultations on the challenges of groundwater resources in each region of the world.  Of course, the Arab region, which suffers from depletion of groundwater and water scarcity, will benefit the most from the adoption of this global framework.”