Paragraph 1
The United Arab Emirates is among the top water-scarce countries in the world. However the country has one of the world’s highest per capita water consumption of 550 liters per day. The country is experiencing a rapid increase in population which has in turn resulted in huge demand for water. In 2009, the total water demand in UAE was estimated at 4.5 billion m3 (BCM) which was met by groundwater (72%), desalinated water (21%) and retreated water (7%).
Water consumption in UAE is primarily divided among three sectors:
Private households
Agriculture
Industries
Paragraph 2
The UAE relies on its expensive desalination plants to meet this water demand. The United Nations defines a country as 'water scarce' if it has 1000 cubic meters of water or less available per capita, per year. ... While critical to the viability of the state, however, desalination is a costly and energy-intensive process.
Paragraph 3
To promote sustainable development, governments will need to form coherent cross-sectoral policies – with respect to the environment, agriculture, energy, economy, trade, foreign affairs and development cooperation – that will improve integrated water resources management and governance. For example, agricultural policies and plans for economic development need to be coherent with goals for water resources protection.
