The Dubai Media office announced plans to build the world’s biggest space simulation city to support its  Mars 2117 Project that aims to colonize the planet Mars in the next 100 years.

The ultra-modern Space City shall comprise multiple climate controlled domes designed to prevent direct exposure to solar radiation simulating Mars lack of a layer of protective gases to shield its inhabitants from solar radiation.

Scientists and engineers have considered transparent recyclable plastic material as viable option for constructing the giant inflatable dome like structures. Laboratories inside the facility will simulate temperature conditions similar to Mars which are much lower than on earth. However, it not clear how the City will simulate Maritian gravity at 38% of earth’s gravity.

The facility that will attempt to construct “a viable and realistic model to simulate living on the surface of Mars” is the brain child of the celebrated Danish architect Bjarke Ingels; and is a collaboration between his firm BIG, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, and the Dubai Municipality.

The mock multi-domed Martian complex is set to house various scientific laboratories dedicated to space research and planetary exploration, a museum 3-D printed from desert sand, and an amphitheater for recreational and educational purposes. The laboratories will serve as testing sites for food and water security, agricultural farming and energy generation in the future.

UAE recently announced its plan to build a Mars Scientific City on the outskirts of Dubai

A museum to celebrate “humanity’s greatest space achievements” will also be built within the Space City. Its walls shall be 3D printed from the desert sand thus testing the concept on 3D printing human settlements from Mars own resources. An interactive educational zone will draw the attention of the youth and invoke a passion for outer space research and exploration.

One of the highlights of the space age Martian complex would be its inhabitants. It aims to house a team of earthly Martians for a year to work together on develop self-sufficient technologies in energy, food and water.

The UAE’s ambitious plan to build a prototype city as part of its vision to make huge strides in space exploration is one of the biggest initiative in planetary science and space travel from the Muslim world.

This is an extension of the same vision – the Emirates Mars Mission under which UAE will send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2020 which would make it the first Muslim country to send a probe to Mars. By announcing its Mars 2117 Initiative, UAE has now put a stake in for an even greater challenge of Mars Colonisation.

References:

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/space-flight-news/united-arab-emirates-build-mars-science-city/

https://www.sciencealert.com/to-prepare-for-mars-the-uae-is-building-a-simulated-martian-city-on-earth

https://www.popsci.com/united-arab-emirates-mars-city-pictures?src=SOC&dom=

A group of researchers at King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have discovered three herbal plants which can be used to combat cancer. These plants carrying cytotoxic (harmful/destructive to living cells) potential, have traditionally been used against a host of diseases.

In an effort to devise inexpensive treatment options against cancer, a group of scientists led by Dr. Timothy Ravasi and Dr. Christian Voolstra set out to study a local plant derived agent that has the property to hamper cell growth. Timothy Ravasi – a professor of Bioscience at KAUST – has a Ph.D from the University of Milan in Italy. Ravasi who specializes in systems biology is also working with Christian Voolstra on discovering new bioactive compounds from Red Sea marine animals.

PhD student from KAUST studying anticancer potential of native plant species

The researchers discovered that a chemical compound found in plant extracts has the ability to inhibit the activity of (topoisomerase) enzymes that play a vital role in cell division. Enzymes are biological agents that accelerate chemical reactions. In order for a cell to divide and produce copies of itself the cell undergoes a process called DNA replication. The topoisomerase enzymes participate in a process that facilities the replication cycle (they correct topological problems caused by the double stranded DNA structure). Inhibitors of this enzyme are the most widely used anticancer drugs.

The researchers narrowed down their search to three plants after investigating around 52 plants for their biological properties. They used plant extracts to demonstrate that the said plants contain substances capable of acting as topoisomerase inhibitors thereby stalling uncontrolled cell growth.

This discovery builds upon a series of research in a branch of science called Natural Products Chemistry that involves the use of naturally occurring chemical compounds having therapeutic capabilities for producing drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.

This initial research although a step in the right direction is fraught with challenges. The development of new drugs derived from naturally occurring compounds is a complex and expensive process. In the Muslim World, there is an old and established practice of traditional medicine but it has been challenge to bring this traditional knowledge to the 21^st Century.

There are several research centers in Natural Products Chemistry the most notable – HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry which has the additional title of being the International Center of Chemical and Biological Sciences – has been active in the Natural Products Chemistry for many decades is seeking to develop the capacity to convert this science into pharmaceutical drugs after appropriate animal and himan testing.

While this discovery is a step in the right direction, the Muslim world has a long way to go to fully capitalize on these discoveries and need to make more focused efforts – and expend more resources – to indigenize the drug development cycle.

As the search for knowledge and quests to explore yonder worlds stays part of human nature, Mars remains the first – and so far – biggest feat for space agencies around the world. The Muslim world is playing its part in this global challenge. UAE’s space agency is building up its mission ‘Al-Amal’ or Hope, which is planned to enter Mars’ orbit in the year 2021.

Ancient history of many cultures associated Mars with war and destruction due to its reddish appearance. In the Muslim world, Mars at times was an omen of triumph and divine blessing. In the 10^th century, the Fatimid Caliphate captured Egypt and moved their royal seat to a newly named city ‘Al-Qahir’ or City of Mars (Fatimid dialect), presently known as Cairo. Astrological connotations were gradually refuted by Muslim astronomers and a scientific approach with empirical arguments gave birth to astronomy and space sciences of the modern world.[i]

The space race between US and USSR led to plethora of missions beyond Earth’s orbit. In the 1960s, Pakistan, primarily due to its location, became a region of major interest for NASA and SUPARCO, the first space agency in the Muslim World was born. Many other Muslim nations have since established space agencies and are playing their part in the global space sector such as LAPAN (Indonesia), ANGKASA (Malaysia), ISA (Iran), MAKA (Azerbaijan), NSSA (Bahrain), UzbekCosmos(Uzbekistan), KazCosmos (Kazakhastan), ASA (Algeria), TSA (Turkey), TNSA (Turkmenistan) and SPARRSO (Bangladesh). Other Muslim countries are also either in the phase of establishing a space agency or joining hands with another.

The UAE Space Agency is the latest entrant in this galaxy.  It is investing $5.44 billion and spearheading the space sector in the Muslim world with its ambitious unmanned mission to Mars. Marking UAE as the ninth country working to explore Mars, Hope, the first Islamic probe to Mars, is planned to start its journey from the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket in July 2020.

The Ruler of Dubai H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum says, “this mission to Mars is really for the hope of the Arab world”.

According to H.E. Dr. Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Director General of UAE Space Agency, “Our vision is to launch space projects that will help the development of the UAE’s economy, support local, regional and international space study and technology and create exciting learning and career opportunities for our people.”

After launch, the probe will begin the seven to nine-month long journey.

Emirates mission to Mars is a science mission. The Emirati orbiter is aimed at providing an integrated model of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Hope will be the first to study dynamic changes in Martian atmosphere throughout its daily and seasonal cycles. The space probe will be built from aluminum into a honeycomb-like compact structure weighing approximately 1,500 kg including fuel. It will collect planet-wide climate tracking because of its special orbit cycles. It is planned to orbit Mars till 2023 at least and may have an extended mission till 2025.

The mission will search for clues to better understand the ancient climate on Mars and today’s Martian weather. This will be done by tracking the escape of hydrogen and oxygen and their behavior as Mars loses its atmosphere to Space. With an onboard storage capacity of 20 GB, it will send back more than 1000 GB of invaluable data that will be made available for free to space specialists to study.

Hope is to be equipped with 600 watt solar panels for power, six 120-Newton Delta-V thrusters, eight 5-Newton Reaction Control System thrusters for navigation and control along with Star trackers for guidance and attitude correction. To stay in contact with Mission Control on Earth, a High-gain directional antenna producing narrow radio-wave will point at Earth. Once in orbit around Mars, the communication bandwidth may be as low as 250 kbps.

The scientific instruments to be carried by Hope include the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI), Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) and an Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS). The EXI will send back high-resolution color images and measure properties of water ice, dust aerosols and quantify ozone. The EMUS will measure the variability of the thermosphere and traces of oxygen and hydrogen coronae. The EMIRS will help examine temperature patterns and the thermal structure. It will also measure abundance of ice water vapor and dust in Martian atmosphere. [ii]

At approximately 54.6 million kilometers away from Earth with a communication delay of 13-20 minutes, Hope will have to maneuver into Mars’ orbit autonomously. Once in orbit, internal reaction wheels will be spun for attitude control and to point its solar panels towards the Sun while pointing its antenna towards Earth and on board scientific equipment towards Mars. [iii]

The first Muslim and royal in space, Prince Sultan bin Salman[iv] of Saudi Arabia who was part of the crew of Discovery STS-51G that went into orbit for seven days in 1985, has also endorsed active participation in space mission by nations of the MENA region noting that this would greatly benefit the Muslim world by developing technology and bringing hope and inspiration to a troubled region.

At a Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2016, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon exclaimed “I want to bring UAE into a small community which will be working, and I believe, living on the only other habitable planet in our solar system by 2040.”

The challenges that UAE Space Agency may face include completing the development of the space probe well in time for launch, securing measurable economic benefits, ensuring effective transfer of technology, and retaining the trained professional Emirati scientists and engineers for the mission to Mars who may seek other jobs. 

Dr Benton C Clark – Lockheed

The UAE Space Agency plans to maintain an ongoing engagement with academia.

Dr. Benton C. Clarke[v], Chief Scientist, Flight Systems, Lockheed Martin Astronautics at the launch of Emirates Mission to Mars in Abu Dhabi said, “We’d very much like to see them be successful, because it’s always good to have more science at Mars. These missions help each other. It has a lot of broad reaching implications for education. We found in the US when the Space programs first started especially when first astronauts went into space, that many students became interested in science and technology than they had before.”

The Emirates mission to Mars will set a precedent for other space agencies in the Muslim world. UAE government’s bold initiatives have put its space sector into overdrive and the ambitious Mission to Mars will move UAE far ahead of others in the Muslim World.

References:

[i] Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World By James E. Lindsay (Page 103-4)

[ii] http://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae

[iii] http://www.space.gov.ae

[iv] First Arab in Space https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/the-first-arab-in-space-1.32633

[v] Video interview recorded by author at GSSF UAE

The Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications center (SESAME) in Jordan

The facility which costs USD 90 million is located in the Jordanian town of Al-Balqa and is funded by member states with support from UNESCO and the European Union. Initial funds for the building and site were offered by the government of Jordan. That coupled with annual contributions including pledges of USD 5 million each from member states of Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority cover for staff and other operational costs[1]. The European Union through CERN has also pledged 5 million dollars alongside grants from UNESCO and IAEA. The funds provided by IAEA were used for training scientists and engineers[2]. Similarly, substantial contributions were provided by Italy amounting to 3.56 million dollars till date which have been used to procure equipment and build a hostel for SEASME[3]. Founded on the model of Europe’s state of the art physics research laboratory, OPEN SESAME is the Muslim world’s only leading synchrotron.[4] ^[5]    The project signaling the dawn of a new era of scientific collaboration is modeled and conceptualized around CERN, the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider located in Geneva.

What is SESAME?  

The synchrotron is a particle accelerator that can be used to analyze and study almost anything from environmental pollutants to human body tissues. The principle behind it is that it uses a light source that scientists can use to gather information about the structural and chemical properties of the materials at the molecular level. Globally, there are around 60 synchrotrons driving scientific research and functioning as incredible tools in medicine and engineering but SESAME is the first one in the Middle East where expert physicists and researchers practice advanced science and research.

The synchrotron is a large machine about the size of a football field that is used to accelerate electrons at a high speed. The 130 meter accelerator shoots electrons propelling them at high energy and guiding them through a circular tube. They are shot like cannon balls travelling almost at the speed of light. The resultant beam is directed towards an area where the experiments are performed. Each beam line has a specialized wavelength that can be used to analyze a broad variety of materials that are otherwise invisible to the human eye. The synchrotron has wide applications in the fields of chemistry, biology, electronics, medicine, engineering, and archeology.

The idea of the project, led by British physicist Prof Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, was conceptualized almost 20 years ago and faced obstacles of varying nature along the way.

The Middle Eastern synchrotron faced a host of obstacles due to the complex nature of the project. The plan faced financial and technical delays almost at its onset. The hurdles were further aggravated due to regional sensitivities, governmental hostilities and miniscule science and research budgets of the member states. Iran’s contribution of 5 million dollars as part of its individual pledge faced delays due to international sanctions on banking. Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency is also an observer on the SEASME council. Despite such immense challenges, the venture still managed to materialize in the form of a world class interdisciplinary research laboratory.

What exactly does SESAME do?

Today, SESAME is capable of generating of up to 20 beamlines but scientists have initially planned to work with three.

The first is an X-ray light that has applications in environmental research and can be employed to identify potential sources of environmental pollution.

The second is an infrared light that can be used to study the structural and chemical properties of cells and their proteins.

The third MX (Macromolecular Crystallography – a radiation technique used to study biological molecules) can be used to study the structural characteristics of viruses in order to develop effective drugs against them. Efforts are underway to introduce an imaging beamline to study archaeological or cultural heritage artefacts.

The project open to international and Middle Eastern researchers in universities and scientists, has already received 55 proposals to use the first two beamlines. In Jordan, an advanced research center has been established to study globally relevant problems pertaining to the environment and public health. A project to determine the causes of soil pollution in the Jordan River Valley spearheaded by scientist Messaoud Harfouche and other collaborators from Egypt and Jordan is underway. Similarly researchers are probing the causes and environmental factors linked to cancer which is on the rise in the Middle Eastern region.

In addition, an advanced training program was initiated to train scientists and engineers from the region to impart critical knowledge about the accelerator technology and its uses. Sesame has successfully conducted 30 trainings in the Middle East and other countries and has trained 750 scientists and engineers about the applications of synchrotron technology. The program also offers opportunities of international exposure and collaboration where around 105 research students and scientists were given the opportunity to gain firsthand experience of using the radiation sources by spending up to two years at other synchrotron radiation facilities in Europe, USA and Asia. This program enjoys the support of IAEA and the European Union.

The region’s first synchrotron and the only one being powered by renewable energy holds tremendous potential for advancements in research and technology for future generations. It is the transformative power of science that has enabled scientists and researchers from countries like Iran and Israel to work together despite tensions between their regional countries.

The facility will serve to usher in a new era of scientific knowledge and discovery in this part of the world fostering international scientific collaborations, promoting the development of industrial processes and providing individuals with an environment for scientific research and collaboration. SESAME aspires to reverse the brain drain in the region by promoting research in fields ranging from medicine and biology, through materials science, physics and chemistry to healthcare, the environment, agriculture and archaeology.

Along with this, SESAME also fosters scientific and technological capacity building in the Middle East and neighboring regions. Enhanced scientific links are being developed to nurture a culture of peace through collaboration on scientific advancements.

[1] http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/ON-Jordan-inaugurates-regions-first-synchrotron-1705177.html

[2] http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/ON-Jordan-inaugurates-regions-first-synchrotron-1705177.html

[3] http://www.sesame.org.jo/sesame/images/News/SESAME-Opening/Souvenir_Booklet.pdf

[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39927836

[5] https://phys.org/news/2017-05-sesame-science-centre-inaugurated-jordan.html

Water can be classified as the single most critical natural resource; it is a basic human need without which there is no life. It is an input to almost all production, in agriculture, industry, energy, transport, by healthy people in healthy ecosystems.

Today, the world is facing an ever-growing scarcity of fresh water. With the steady growth in the global population, changes in living standards and dietary preferences, coupled with the accelerating climate change (CC), experts predict that water shortages will exacerbate in the coming years and decades. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks experts’ rated Water supply crisis, as one of the world’s greatest risks in terms of both impact and likelihood for two years (in 2012 and 2013) consecutively. Indeed, water scarcity already affects every continent, as around 1.2 billion people live in areas of physical scarcity and another 1.6 billion people face economic water shortage (due to the lack of necessary infrastructure).

Water usage in irrigation

By 2050, the world population is expected to hit 9 billion. Most urban cities will expand and require more fresh water resources to meet their basic human and public health needs, plus their demand for water-intensive energy, will also double. Demand for food, the world’s largest water user, will grow drastically, requiring even more water. This will have dire impacts on agriculture and world food supply, public health, economic development, energy generation and the sustenance of many.

When we zoom on the Muslim world, the situation is not much different from the global lenses. That’s why at the conference of Islamic environment ministers in 2010; water shortage was highlighted as one of the most pressing environmental issue facing the region. Certainly, the challenge of balancing water demand against supply, is enormous for most of the Muslim countries, namely those in arid, semi-arid and hyper-arid zones such as countries in the MENA region.

For over 15 years now, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has conducted several Scientific and Policy research workshops, on water scarcity issues and on alternative solutions to ease up the pressure on scare water resources. Such solutions are geared towards exploring alternative water resources, particularly for the agriculture sector, that uses more than 80% of total water in most of the Muslim countries. These Non-conventional waters such as salty, brackish, recycled and treated water, offer opportunities to alleviate this pressure and to develop marginal environments into prosperous communities.

In 2012, ICBA, in collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), developed the OIC Water Vision “working together for a water secure future”, to foster collaboration and cooperation on water in the Islamic world. The OIC Water Vision responds to the challenge of securing reliable access to water for health, livelihoods and production, and managing risks related to water associated with population growth, depletion of resources, environmental degradation and climate change. Close collaboration with major stakeholders, mainly the ministries responsible for water and key Islamic organizations, has ensured that the vision is culturally and politically appropriate, as a framework for developing water policy and management in all 57 countries.

From a national perspective, ICBA has been a strong partner with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in development of water policies.

Forage security

Through the UAE “Water Conservation Strategy”, ICBA researchers identified basic initiatives to manage water resources sustainably, in order to conserve water resources from exploitation and pollution. Based on an integrated approach that anticipates meeting future water demand from a mix of investment in new water infrastructure and efficiency improvements of existing water supplies (natural resources, desalination and reclaimed water), the Strategy identified the key questions, assumptions and areas of risk to future water development. The lack of renewable resources in the UAE, is the most challenging factor for sustainable water resources use and management. Thus, non-conventional waters are the only dependable water sources for sustainable economic development.

ICBA also joined forces with the Abu Dhabi Emirate to develop the “Abu Dhabi Water Master Plan”, the first comprehensive assessment of both natural and non-conventional water, in the Emirate. The research involved developing new data sets on aspects of water, such as, the environmental and economic costs which are crucial to support decision-makers. Understanding the environmental implications and developing the legal and regulatory framework, were key components of the study. Water policy reforms were recommended to ensure the sustainable management of water resources. Afterwards, the Abu Dhabi Water Council (ADWC) was established to monitor and coordinate activities in the entire water sector, to support strategic planning and unify the standards and practices in the Emirate.

ICBA

Among the non-conventional water sources, the treated wastewater (TWW) is receiving more attention as a reliable water resource. Undeniably, urban areas are expected to grow considerably, as by 2050, 70% of the global population will be living in cities. This coupled with further improvements to sanitation services, will result in a continuous increase in TWW supplies. ICBA considers TWW, if used safely, as a valuable source in the water balance of all countries suffering from water shortage. To this end, ICBA, in collaboration with several partners, including national programs and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and others, have been conducting research studies, capacity building programs, expert meetings and workshops in the Arab region, over the past five years. Extensive information and data have been produced and many lessons have been highlighted in the pilot countries; Jordan, Oman, Tunisia, and UAE. In 2014, ICBA in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) and ACSAD, organized an international conference on “The Use of Treated Wastewater in the agricultural production”. The conference stressed the need for a holistic approach that brings in all stakeholders and builds trust and ownership of the TWW as a valuable alternative source of water.

In addition to policy, ICBA also carries out fundamental research to support water availability and use efficiency. For instance, ICBA research recently demonstrated that using daily weather data as a tool for irrigation management could lead to 50% water
savings. ICBA researchers have also been part of collaborative research efforts aimed at  making use of satellite observations, in situ data and integrated hydrologic models to generate water data sets, providing vital information to MENA decision-makers. For a number of years, ICBA research has targeted cultivation of halophytes (salt-loving plants) that remove salts from saline soils and water. Modern avenues, such as extraction of renewable bioenergy from these halophytic species is also being tested. Many new varieties of crops, particularly those using less water, higher yields, and are drought resistant, are being developed and tested across the Middle East and Central Asia.

ICBA recently launched a four year business plan (2013-16) with anticipated investments of USD $53 million hinging on 5 research and 4 enabling innovations. With the backing of its board and the partnership of other institutions, ICBA is well on its way to become a global centre for excellence seeking to address the challenges of water scarcity in the Islamic World.

Dr. Ismahane Elouafi holds a PhD in Genetics (Cordoba University, Spain) and is the Director General of International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA). The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) is a not-for-profit, international center of excellence for research and development in marginal environments and works to address agricultural and water scarcity solutions. For further information, please visit http://www.biosaline.org/

*The images are courtesy ICBA

By Paula Hammond

In the 1980s, anyone wanting to play a round of golf in Saudi Arabia, would have had to make do with one of the Kingdom’s many desert courses, where instead of grass ‘greens’, golfers played on sandy ‘browns’. Water traps were merely pits marked with blue tape and players were allowed to bring their own square of turf with them to tee-off from. These days, Riyadh boasts several all-grass courses. Saudi Arabia may be one of planet Earth’s driest nations, with less than 59 millimeters of rain a year, but to the casual observer it looks like a veritable oasis. Appearances can be deceptive.

Water is one of the cornerstones of life. Although 71 percent of the planet’s surface is covered in this essential liquid, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh water. Most of this is locked up in glaciers, meaning that our survival as a species, hinges on the tiny percentage of water found in rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Of these there are two types; one is potentially renewable, while the other (fossil aquifers) remains water locked into the ground in the distant past, which can be exhausted.

Too much luxury?

As populations increase, and regions become more industrialised, the challenge of balancing water needs with available supplies is already – in some Muslim countries – becoming a matter of life and death. And it’s a problem exacerbated by climate change. In fact, in 2011, Kuwait set a world temperature record of 53.3’C – so hot that when rain comes, most water evaporates before it penetrates the ground.

Solving Problems

A ‘water-stressed’ nation is one, where there’s less than 1,000 cubic meters of water available per person per year. According to a World Resources Institute study, 36 countries worldwide have “extremely high” water-stress levels, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara and Saudi Arabia.

So the question has to be asked: if Saudi Arabia is so water-stressed, how can it possibly build real-grass golf courses? The answer is simple: money.

In many Muslim nations, water management hinges on tried and tested techniques, which are quick and cheap to implement. In the Middle East for instance, farmers have been irrigating their land using qanats since the time of the Persian Empire. These sloping tunnels are cut into the mountainside and channel water where it’s needed most. In rural Tunisia, farmers bury cisterns on sloping ground to act as mini reservoirs, to collect rainwater for drinking. This too, is a technique dating back to the Bronze Age.

In nations with more financial muscle, new technologies have been brought in to help the fight. Drip-irrigation – where crops are watered at the roots using perforated tubes buried underground – is one technique that has proved to be very successful, increasing crop yields by 50%, using 50% less water.

Using oil-drilling technology, Saudi Arabia has tapped aquifers below the desert sands, enabling it become self-sufficient in wheat. Around fifty percent of its drinking water, comes from huge desalination plants, that convert seawater into fresh water, while its super-green golf-courses, are irrigated with a mix of desalinated water and treated urban waste water.

Creating Problems

Sadly, though, despite Saudi Arabia’s impressively verdant golf courses, water is still a finite resource and increasingly, even the Kingdom’s oil revenues can’t keep its rapidly growing population fed and watered.

In 2008, the Saudi government admitted that its fossil aquifers were almost depleted. In 2013, Waleed El-Khereiji, Head of the Grains and Silos Flour Management Organization announced that “2015 will be the last market year for local wheat production. We will be fully dependent on imported wheat … by 2016.” The decision was taken to save what little groundwater resources the nation still had.

Afghanistan’s farms and burgeoning cities are putting similarly unsustainable demands on its groundwater. Water tables around the capital are falling by 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) a year and could soon run out completely. Pakistan is so water-stressed that according to a World Bank report “the survival of a modern and growing Pakistan is threatened by [a lack of] water”.

The situation in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia has become so severe, that they’ve taken the step of actually leasing land in sub-Saharan Africa on which to grow crops. However, this is a House of Cards solution at best. Using more water for crop production in, say Ethiopia, where most of the Nile’s headwaters begin, means that nations downstream like Egypt, will ultimately have less water. In the meantime, Turkey is throwing fuel on the fire, with a huge hydroelectric progamme. By damming rivers to power cities, they are inadvertently reducing the water that once flowed into the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, leaving populations in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, to go dry.

Water Wars

There’s no simple solution to the world’s water shortages but according to His Excellency Hazim El-Naser Ph.D, Minister of Water and Irrigation for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, unless nations begin to seriously address them, we may soon see our first water wars. “It’s coming” he said.

Looking at water-greedy developments like Riyadh’s golf courses, the concept of shortages is so dire, that they cause water wars that may be hard to swallow, but they’re already here. In 2012, in Beni Sueif in Egypt, one person was killed and many more injured, during a conflict over irrigation water. In the same year, engineers working on flood defenses were attacked and explosives were detonated at Wular Lake in a dispute between Pakistan and India, over control of the waters of the Indus Basin. It’s not hard to imagine such conflicts spilling over, until nations are fighting nations over the control of quickly dwindling water supplies.

Yet if water – or the lack of it – causes conflicts, then Hazim El-Naser believes that it can also bring people together. “Water”, he says, “is the bridge to peace and trust building …”.

All over the world, Muslim nations are fighting to preserve their precious water reserves, using both old and new technologies. Long-neglected quants in Syria and Oman, have been repaired. In Yemen, where people have less than 140 cubic meters of water a year, plans are afoot that could see Sana’a City ‘harvesting’ 100% of its rainwater by 2020. In Iran, farmers are being advised to grow crops that use less water – pistachios rather than sugar beets. While drip-irrigation is being combined with GPS tracking so that tractors can avoid damaging delicate drip lines; making the system even more efficient.

Yet as Hazim El-Naser understands, water shortages are a problem that no one nation can solve on their own. Co-operation, and the sharing of resources and technologies, is not just the best way to combat the problem. It’s the only way. Without it, we could all well be like the Ancient Mariner in the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”

Paula Hammond is a professional author of over 35 non-fiction books, including popular science volumes on fossils, dinosaurs and endangered animals. She has a passion for learning and the wonders of the natural world.

Sources:

1. The World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.PRCP.MM
2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noaa.gov/ocean.html
3. For a further breakdown of the world’s water resources see: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html
4. An underground water supply, which is often found in porous rock.
5. Source: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/01/14/404552/seven-national-all-time-heat-records-set-in-2011/
6. For additional analysis visit http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/12/world’s-36-most-water-stressed-countries
7. From an Irrigation Australian study: http://irrigation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Drip-Irrigation-brochure-final-for-print-v8.pdf
8. “Pakistan’s Water Economy: Running Dry”, a World Bank Report: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/11/9596145/pakistans-water-economy-running-dry
9. His Excellency Hazim El-Naser PhD, Minister of Water and Irrigation for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in a talk given at Stamford Woods Institute. For a discussion of this lecture visit https://woods.stanford.edu/news-events/news/waters-link-middle-east-peace
10. For more information on “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and its author see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner

To read the report, click here.