The Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Hazim El Naser reiterated today the 10 principles of water demand management to be adopted by MENA and countries worldwide by the year 2025. The principles include:
1- Countries are committed to utilize Best Management Practices to enhance the efficacy of their water systems.
2- Water Demand Management is key to conservation and sustainability. Emergence of a culture to that end is essential in water institutions and for water users.
3- Water Demand Management is crtical to effective integrated Water Resources Management.
4- Middle East and North African countries will cooperate to develop key guidelines, standards and tools to support the implementation of Water Demand Management activities.
5- Basin sharing countries will encourage the development of Water Demand Management strategies.
6- Demand Management principles consider the priorities of different users. Governments in the region will employ all means to ensure social and economic development and equity.
7- The creation of a receptive regulatory environment for Demand Management while providing economic incentives that facilitate enforcemnt is essential for success of these programs.
8- Water institutions will develop awareness and educational programs to create an enabling environment for Water Demand Management.
9- Governments and stakeholders will consider all facets of water economics in water sector planning, with due consideration of social and political constraints.
10- Evironmental and ecological demands will be considered as an important factor in Water Demand Management programs.
The day continued on as usual with plenary sessions on two essential topics: “Natural Synergy of Water and Energy,” by Dr. Munthir Hadaddin, Visiting Professor at Oregon State University; and “The Need for Water Culture to Manage Water Demand,” by Mr. Walter Mazzitti, Chairman of the European Task Force on Water for the Peace Process, European Commission.
The theme Dr. Hadaddin chose for his morning address is the natural synergy of water and energy and the link it has with demand management. In the process, he introduced a new term, ‘shadow water.’ This new term signifies the indigenous water demand for the production of imported goods. The term is similar to ‘virtual water’ yet it is more definitive in quantity. ‘Virtual water’ carries a duality of quantification of water demand—one in the exporting country and another in the importing county. ‘Shadow water’ is also most inclusive. It is calculated analytically as the original water needed to produce the imported goods domestically.
Universally and across the globe, water and energy are intertwined. It is important to underline that without energy the global water cycle is not possible and the supply of water for life on the globe would be interrupted. Solar energy causes the evaporation of water from the oceans where the water cycle starts. The net average of water transfer from the oceans per year is about 40,000 km³. The role of energy in the global water cycle is therefore evident. It allows natural desalination of salty ocean water and the transfer of it to the land where it is needed. This is all done without the intervention of man and the cycle is therefore envrionmentally friendly and stable.
Another natural synergy of water and energy is manifested by geothermal energy that is stored in water. Heat, deep in the earth, find its way to groundwater flows or vice verca. Groundwater picks up and stores this heat. In Jordan, geothermal energy occurrence in ground water is widespread and the subsurface temperatures that groundwater reaches are reported to be as high as 180 degrees.
Artificial means of desalination have been made possible with man’s employment of technology and the input of energy combined. Energy inputs enable the generation of sweet water from brakish and salt seas. Man’s intervention in the natural synergy of water and energry disturbs the environment. It can cause unfavorable envrionmental impacts.
Dr. Hadaddin concluded his speech by saying that water and energy should be the focus of consideration as water projects are being planned—“they both display a natural synergy that warrant their dual consideration.”
Mr. Mazzitti said a culture of water demand management should be diffused among decision makers in order for all subjects involved such as institutions, public/private companies, farmers and customers to become more aware of the value of water and its use. He said that’s why it is imperative to agree on launching a strong initiative to create an authentic ‘water culture’ and move from a formal declaration to implemetation and an action phase.
He added that the first step to creating this culture is to rethink the priorities at the government level—socio-economic and environmental aspects should be the number one priority. Another step to creating this culture is to take future actions and transformations introducing new water rules and an effective technological system.
Equalizing agriculture needs and water demand for other uses is also important to creating this ‘water culture’ This will only work by incorporating the participaton of all necessary parties such as institutions, public/private companies, farmers and customers.
Mr. Mazzitti said the EU Task Force on Water of the Middle East Peace Process is currently implementing an important regional project to create a water culture involving all countries implicated in the peace process, where it can be demonstrated that a water culture can strongly provide best management practices of water demand.
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