Tag Archives: Wastewater

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

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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 →

The Effects of Waste on Palestinians’ Health And Environment

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The State of Palestine faces multiple environmental challenges, most of them linked to waste management. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlighted in 2020 that “47% of all waste, including hazardous waste, is disposed of in unsanitary dump sites”. The figures shared by the  Heinrich Böll Foundation in Plastic Atlas focused on municipal solid waste and underlined that 65% of the waste is disposed of in landfills and 32% in illegal dumping sites. Just 3% of the rubbish is recycled or reused. The sociopolitical and economic context of the country dominated by the occupation makes even bigger the global challenge … Continue reading →

Working of a Modern Biogas Plant

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Biogas plants are decentralized energy system that can lead to self-sufficiency in heat and power requirements, and at the same time reduces environmental pollution. A biogas plant stabilizes organic waste through natural biological process in the absence of air and transforms waste into biogas and biofertilizer. Such facilities are well-suited to wet organic material and are commonly used for treating biodegradable waste materials such as waste paper, grass clippings, leftover food, sewage and animal waste. The components of a modern biogas plant includes manure collection, anaerobic digester, effluent treatment plant, gas storage, and CHP or electricity generating equipment. Working of … Continue reading →

Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation in Jordan Valley

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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 →

Water Crisis in Gaza

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Gaza Strip has been enduring constant Israeli bombardment for many years which has resulted in severe damages to its infrastructure and to its citizens. However the real risk is Gaza’s lack of usable water.  The only natural source of fresh water in Gaza is a shallow aquifer on the southern part of its coast; 90 to 95% of which is not safe for drinking because of neighboring seawater, sewage, and runoff from agriculture. Even though most of it is not fit for consumption, residents have no other choice but to resort to using it. UN hydrologists have indicated that current extraction … Continue reading →

Waste Management in Gaza Strip

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Solid waste management in Gaza Strip is a matter of grave concern. With population of approximately 1.75 million, waste management is one of the most serious challenges confronting the local authorities because of high volumes of solid waste generation and economic blockade by Israel. The daily solid waste generation across Gaza is more than 1300 tons which is characterized by per capita waste generation of 0.35 to 1.0 kg. Scarcity of waste disposal sites coupled with huge increase in waste generation is leading to serious environmental and human health impacts on the population. The severity of the crisis is a … Continue reading →

The Impact of IoT on Sustainable Development

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is currently trending with its ever expanding eco-system of digital sensors, appliances and wearable smart devices. Like other sectors, the role of IoT in sustainable development and environment protection will be crucial in the coming years. Environmental degradation is occurring all over the world. Land degradation, deforestation and desertification pose a growing threat to food security and water availability. Widespread loss of biological diversity is undermining the productive capacity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This reduces access to essential environmental goods and services, including vital ecological processes such as water purification, nutrient cycling, control of … Continue reading →

Water Resource Management in GCC – Issues and Challenges

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GCC countries are suffering from a huge deficit in their water resources reaching more than 20 billion cubic meter, being met mainly by an intensive over-drafting of renewable and non-renewable groundwater resources for the agricultural sector, and by the extensive installation of highly expensive desalination plants for the municipal sector, and by reusing a small percentage of treated wastewater in the agricultural and municipal sector. Furthermore, conflict between the agricultural and domestic sectors on the limited water resources in the region are rising, and as a result, groundwater over-exploitation and mining is expected to continue in order to meet growing … Continue reading →

Organic Industrial Wastes in the Middle East

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Organic industrial waste includes a wide range of organic materials obtained from industrial and commercial operation. Industries in Middle East countries produces a large number of organic residues and by-products whose disposal is a major problem for stake-holders. In recent decades, the fast-growing food and beverage processing industry has remarkably increased in importance in major countries of the Middle East. Since the early 1990s, the increased agricultural output stimulated an increase in fruit and vegetable canning as well as juice, beverage, and oil processing in countries like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. There are many technologically-advanced dairy products, bakery … Continue reading →

The Role of Water Treatment in Environmental Sustainability

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Water scarcity is one of the largest threats facing humanity today due to constant water shortages being experienced all over the world. Only a small percentage of the world’s water (about 3%) is fit for human consumption with two percent of this amount present in glaciers and ice caps. The United Nations has given water due prominence by making it one of its millennium development goals. Such is the importance of water that governments have started developing new technologies and projects to cushion its effects on the world population. These initiatives include desalination, rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment and water location … Continue reading →

Water Crisis in Egypt and Degeneration of the Nile

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Egypt is struggling to cope with water shortages and food production. It is expected that Egypt’s per capita annual water supply will drop from 600 cubic meters today to 500 cubic meters by 2025, which is the UN threshold for absolute water scarcity. Egypt has only 20 cubic meters per person of internal renewable freshwater resources, and as a result the country relies heavily on the Nile for its main source of water. Water scarcity has become so severe that it has been recorded that certain areas in the country could go days without water, with pressure sometimes returning only … Continue reading →

Water Scarcity in Jordan: An Overview

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Being one of the most arid countries in the Middle East, Jordan is facing severe water shortages. The current per capita water supply in the country is 200 cubic meters per year which is almost one-third of the global average. To make matters worse, it is projected that Jordan’s population (currently at 6 million) will reach 9 million by 2025 causing a drastic decline in per capita water availability to measly 91 cubic meters. Read on to know more about water scarcity in Jordan: State of the Affairs Groundwater resources account for 54% of Jordan’s total water supply, and are … Continue reading →