Pakistan’s Thirst for Water: Towards a National Sustainable Water Policy

Being the world’s 6th most populous country, Pakistan is home to about 210 million people. The growing population reduces average water availability every day. In 2017, Asian Development Bank reported that the agriculture sector of Pakistan consumes 93% of the water resources and contributes 21% – one-fourth – to the Gross Domestic Product. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources published a report titled “Water requirements of major crops in Central Punjab,” that has mentioned that over 60% of water is lost in transmission and applications. This implies that the agriculture sector that consumes 93% of water resources wastes two-third … Continue reading

Water Stress in the Mediterranean

For many years now, the Mediterranean has been facing problems leading to a situation of serious environmental degradation. An increase in the temperature and salinity levels has been recorded during the second half of the 20th century in the Mediterranean Sea. However, this increase does not follow progressive trend and periods of temperature alternation have been observed. Following several climate change scientific reports, sea level trend at the global scale is higher than at the regional scales. Furthermore, in the regional scale there are other influence factors such the atmospheric pressure and the wind. In addition, the small rises in temperature … Continue reading

Water Diplomacy in the Middle East for Transboundary Water Supplies

Increased pressure on transboundary water supplies as a result of rising economic and population needs, exacerbated by climate change processes, can have catastrophic consequences in the Middle East. Management of groundwater extraction from transboundary aquifers must involve sharing the amount of accessible water and preserving its quality in order to ensure that future generations will have access to safe groundwater supplies. The Middle East is afflicted by internal water mismanagement and conflicts. This necessitates not only the building of water governance institutions but also diverse engagement platforms and other water diplomacy techniques. The negotiations about water management create the need … Continue reading

مستجمعات المياه الصحية أولوية حرجة لدفع التنمية المستدامة

تُعرّف مستجمعات المياه أو مساقط المياه (Watershed) بأنها مساحة من الأرض تُصرّف المياه الناشئة عن هطول الأمطار وانصهار الثلوج وتوجه تدفقها لتصب باتجاه الجداول والأنهار، وفي النهاية إلى نقاط التدفق (Outflow points) التي تصب في مستودعات المياه الأكبر حجما مثل الخلجان والمحيطات. ولكل جسم مائي مستجمع مياه أو أكثر. وتسمى أيضًا أحواض الأنهار أو أحواض التصريف (Drainage Basin). كما تُسمّى مصائد المياه (Catchment)، لأن الأرض الصاعدة والمرتفعة (Upstream) تصطاد المياه ومن ثم تجري إلى أسفل التل (Downstream) في اتجاه مجرى النهر أو الجدول القريب. تتكون المستجمعات المائية من وديان منحدرة تحيط بها قمم وتلال مرتفعة. ويتم تحديد حدود مستجمعات المياه … Continue reading

15 Purest Water Sources in the World

99% of the world’s water sources are unfit for human consumption, leaving a paltry 1% to sustain over 7 billion people across the planet. The following infographic by Waterlogic, manufacturers of workplace water dispensers takes a deep dive into the 15 purest water sources left on earth, uncovering everything from the freshwater havens of bracing Alaska through to the natural filtration effects of the gold mines in South Africa. There are even a couple of surprises: who knew the River Thames is now regarded as the cleanest river in the world to flow through a major city? Read on to … Continue reading

How Algal Blooms Affect The Environment

Algal blooms are thick layers of small green plants that appear on the surface of lakes and other water bodies due to excess nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen. This covering on the surface of lakes and other water bodies is known as eutrophication. The excess level of nutrients that algae depend on results from human activities that cause pollution, such as fertilizer, wastewater, manure, and sewage runoff. Eutrophication can also be a natural occurrence from moderate accumulation of organic matter, silt, nutrients, and sediments gradually from the watershed. Algae come in different colors ranging from green, red, yellow, and brown. … Continue reading

Illnesses Caused by Dirty Water

Did you know that over 780 million people worldwide lack access to clean water? Accessible water to is so dirty, that it can cause several potentially fatal diseases. These illnesses range from Cholera to E. Coli, Polio to Typhoid fever and each one presents a host of severe symptoms, which result in over three-quarters of a million deaths annually. On Human Rights Day, Waterlogic highlight the regions worst affected by each disease as well as suggesting actions to take and help make their water safe to drink — including one technology used in the plumbed-in water dispensers.  

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Arab Countries

Addressing water scarcity, both natural and human-induced, in the Arab region is considered one of the major and most critical challenges facing the Arab countries. This challenge is expected to grow with time due to many pressing driving forces, including population growth, food demand, unsettled and politicized shared water resources, climate change, and many others, forcing more countries into more expensive water sources, such as desalination, to augment their limited freshwater supplies. The heavy financial, economic, environmental, as well as social costs and burden to be borne cannot be overemphasized. Furthermore, the water scarcity challenge in the Arab world is being … Continue reading

الارادة والتعليم سر الانجازات الاقتصادية

إقتصادياً؛ ينظر الكثير إلى مياه البحر من زاوية التكاليف الباهضة لمشاريع تحليتها، هذه النظرة تجعل من مياه البحر عقدة بدلاً من كونها حلا لبعض الحاجات الإقتصادية والمشاريع التنموية. قبل أيام أطلقت أستراليا مشروعاً زراعياً يعد الأول من نوعه على مستوى العالم، إذ يستغني عن التربة والمياه الجوفية والوقود الأحفوري، ويكتفى بأشعة الشمس ومياه البحر لإنتاج 17 ألف طن من الطماطم سنوياً. وفي ظل الأزمة التي تواجه العالم في الحصول على المياه العذبة وإنتاج الطاقة فإن المشروع يشكل الوجه الجديد للزراعة المستقبلية حسب تعبير مجلة New Scientist التي ذكرت أن المشروع استغرق ست سنوات فقط، وهي مدة قياسية بالمقارنة بمشاريعنا، بل حتى … Continue reading

Why Water Pollution Is a Major Worry in the USA: 4 Water Contamination Events and Their Effects

According to a Gallup poll, the majority of Americans are deeply concerned about water pollution. 56% are concerned about drinking water quality and 53% are concerned about the water quality of rivers, reservoirs, and lakes. Americans have cause for concern. Over the years, there have been multiple water contamination events in the US. Why Water Pollution is a Major Worry in the USA Water pollution in the US is actually a growing problem, though it has been a problem for a long time. In the nineteenth century, water quality was improved in many bodies of water thanks to new mining … Continue reading

التأثير البيئي لمعالجة مخلفات زيت الزيتون

تعد زراعة الزيتون وإنتاج زيت الزيتون جزءاً من التراث المحلي والاقتصاد الريفي في كافة أنحاء منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا وأكثر ما يشتهر به هذا المحصول هو استخدامه في الطبخ وفي الاستعمالات الطبية. في عام 2012، قدر إنتاج العالم من زيت الزيتون بنحو 2903.676 طن، وتعد إسبانيا وإيطاليا واليونان من أكبر منتجي زيت الزيتون في العالم، تليها في الترتيب تركيا وتونس ثم البرتغال والمغرب والجزائر. في الاتحاد الأوروبي وحده يوجد حوالي 2.5 مليون منتِج في قطاع الزيتون، يشكلون مجتمعين حوالي ثلث مزارعي الاتحاد الأوروبي. توفر صناعة زيت الزيتون فرصًا قيمة للمزارعين من حيث التوظيف الموسمي بالإضافة إلى توفير فرص عمل مهمة خارج نطاق … Continue reading

Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation in Jordan Valley

In the context of EcoPeace Middle East's recently released Regional Integrated NGO Master Plan, the key challenge in sustainable water management is to overcome the water scarcity related problems  in the Jordan Valley. This means creating a sustainable water supply system that meets the current and future domestic and agricultural water demands; and at the same time preserves the water resources for future generations and for the environment. This requires an Integrated Water Resources Management regime for the whole (Lower) Jordan River, based on international co-operation among Israel, Jordan and Palestine, supported with adequate water management tools (like WEAP) to ensure sustainable … Continue reading