The fight to reduce the amount of water used takes a new turn in the UAE

March 22

The UAE was at the forefront of efforts to tackle the region's pressing problem of water scarcity.

The country's water consumption is among the highest in the world, at 350 litres per person per day, and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi warns that the country's groundwater supply could be gone within 55 years.

In response, authorities such as the Farmers' Services Centre, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and the Ministry of Environment and Water, have taken action to tackle dwindling supplies.

They want to drastically reduce the amount of water used to produce food and animal feed, and have set a target of reducing the amount of water used in agriculture by 40 per cent by next year.

Agricultural companies have also played a key role in reducing water use by testing landscape irrigation with seawater.

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi set out a plan to try using wastewater on edible crops. The GCC also called for a regional plan to tackle water scarcity in the Arabian Gulf.