Kerala govt wants norms relaxed for Air Kerala - Qatar, S. Korea agree to build petrochemical plant
The Bride Show Dubai 2006 to host sixth consecutive Swarovski Young Designer of The Year Award 2006
Prestigious award serves as springboard for region's talented students
and amateur fashion designersDecember 31, 2005 Organisers of Dubai's forthcoming Bride Show have announced that the prestigious Swarovski Young Designer of The Year Award 2006 will be awarded for the sixth consecutive year, to talented students of fashion design and amateur fashion designers from the Middle East, during the region's popular wedding industry exhibition, The Bride Show Dubai 2006.
Charlotte Proudman, Event Manager, The Bride Show Dubai 2006 said, "Over the past years, the Award has given exposure to up-coming fashion design students and has helped to launch careers of aspiring designers. Several students who won awards in previous years will be joining us as exhibitors this year. In this way the award has helped to promote creativity and raise standards of the Middle East's fashion industry besides infusing new and ethnic ideas into bridal costume designing."
The Bride Show Dubai, being organised by Institute of International Research (IIR) Middle East, will take place from April 4 to 7 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre and is being held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Ladies Club and Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister
of Presidential Affairs.Sponsored by Swarovski, Austria's leading jewellery and accessories maker, the award invites entries under the theme "Dress Satine", Nicole Kidman's character in the film "Moulin Rouge" in two categories -- Student Designer Category and Amateur Designer Category. Ten finalists will be chosen in each section, among whom one winner and one runner-up will be selected
in the respective categories, by a panel of judges drawn from eminent personalities in the fashion and glamour industry.An 'Innovation Award' will be presented to one contestant among the 20 finalists while the winner will receive a certificate, a Swarovski Trophy and an internship valid for one year. All participants will be presented certificates. 'The Young Designers Award is one of the most important attractions
at The Bride Show Dubai 2006, eliciting huge support from the region's design industry and allowing students and amateurs to display their creations on a professional catwalk before a target audience of thousands,' Proudman concluded.The Swarovski Young Designer of The Year Award for 2005 was held on the theme "Swinging Twenties" and attracted entries from 23 students aged between 19 and 25, from top UAE and Qatar-based fashion and design schools. Participating schools included Preston University, The Design Academy, MAHE Manipal - Dubai campus, Pearl Design Centre and Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar.
Twenty-eight year old Iranian Zahra Pourfard, a student of MAHE Manipal, Dubai campus who bagged the last Award with her crepe satin white dress entry, said, "This is a great achievement for me and I'm extremely happy to have won this prestigious award. Winning this gives me great confidence and encourages me to become one of the Middle East's top designers."
The Bride Show Dubai 2006, being planned for the ninth successive year, targets prospective young brides and their families, Emirati women and affluent expatriates, and exhibitor companies and professionals from the fashion, hotel, travel and tourism, banking and finance, beauty and jewellery, catering, sound, light, photography and flower design, transport and home
furnishings sectors. The Bride Show Dubai 2006 has also added the Ambiente Al Bayt Al Arabie
(Ambiente Arabian Home) show to its portfolio which will showcase home interiors and gifts and provide shopping opportunities for wedding presents and homeware for the newly weds' first home. The only consumer home interiors show of its kind, Ambiente Al Bayt al Arabie will be targeting the Emirati market offering everything from interior design to objects d'art, giving
the opportunity for affluent Arab women from the region to purchase and be inspired by the collections on show. It will run concurrently with The Bride Show Dubai 2006.With the involvement of event sponsors Swarovski and the professional fashion industry, participants in the Swarovski Young Designer of The Year Award are given access to workshops and tutored on skills development. All finalists get to display their creations for the public at the final Swarovski Young Designer of The Year Award Fashion Show -- a professional catwalk with
professional models-held on the final day of The Bride Show Dubai 2006.DTCM Facilitates
New VIB To Open At Ibn Battta Mall
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) closed the year 2005 with a grand party for the staff members of its network of Visitors Information Bureaus (VIBs). The ceremony was attended by Mr. Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb, DTCM Director Operations and Marketing, and Mr. Salah Rashid Al Ansari, DTCM Manager, Visitors Information Bureau, along with other senior officials.Mr. bin Hareb, while addressing the ceremony, said that the VIB employees played a very important role in projecting a visitor-friendly image of the emirate and in disseminating information to the tourists.
“New projects are on the anvil to sustain Dubai's booming tourism industry that will place additional responsibilities on the VIB staff members along with the rest of the department,” he said. The Visitors Information Bureaus handled in excess of 170,000 queries from tourists during the year 2005 as against an expected 115,000. Mr. Al Ansari announced that a new VIB would be opened at the Ibn Batuta Mall soon. This is the sixth VIB in Dubai in the shopping mall after Deira City Centre, Mercato, Bur Juman, Hamarain and Wafi City. The other three VIBs are located at the Dubai International Airport, Baniyas Square and Sheikh Zayed Road.
262 street vendors, beggars, illegal car washers nabbed
Dubai Municipality inspectors, in cooperation with Dubai Police and the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department, nabbed last month (December) nabbed 262 persons including street vendors, beggars and illegal car washers. According to Obeid Salem Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Administrative and General Services Affairs, the sweep against the law-breakers had also resulted in the seizure of several low-quality goods, pirated CDs and bottles of alcohol.
Civic inspectors conduct daily spot checks in streets and public places to prevent street vending, begging and car washing in public places by individuals in violation of a ruling by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in this regard. “The nine inspectors at the Security and Monitoring Unit of the Administrative Affairs Department carry out regular checks. In December 2005, they caught a total of 262 people including 133 street vendors, 53 beggars, 72 car washers and four illegal butchers,” he said.
He noted that a total of 2,491 items including ready-made garments, perfumes, cameras, watches, gifts and other several fake products of international brands were confiscated. Also, some 1,776 pirated CDs, 173 pornographic movies on CDs, 19 bottles of whisky, 72 bottles of honey 34 sheep and 13 bundles of fodder were also seized.
Al Shamsi explained that the law-breakers, who belong to various nationalities, would be handed over to the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department for deportation in coordination with Dubai Police. The seized goods would be destroyed and disposed off safely after legal actions were taken against the violators. He urged the public to call the Municipality Emergency office on 04-2232323 round-the-clock to report such illegal activities.
Zabeel Park Opened by Sheikh Hamdan
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, opened on Tuesday Zabeel Park, the first technology-based recreational theme park in the Gulf.The park, located on three separate plots to the north east of the Dubai World Trade Centre and bounded by Trade Centre Road, Al Quta’eyat Road and Za’abeel Road, is aimed at boosting domestic and international tourism in Dubai. The opening ceremony was attended by Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality, senior government officials from local departments and the municipality.
The park is divided into three plots, all of which are interlinked by pedestrian bridges.Sultan said the Dh200 million park comprises a number of provisions including food courts, a cricket pitch, amphitheatre, exhibition centres and special facilities for boating."Zabeel Park will become a major tourist attraction in Dubai. The park has something to offer each visitor," he said.
With an overall area of 47.5 hectares the park has been designed with a technology theme that reflects the current status of Dubai as a regional centre for the development of high technology and IT industries. Zabeel Park will provide a themed recreation and leisure facility of international standard, for the enjoyment of both local residents and visitors. To reflect and maximise the technology theme, the park features a series of high tech interactive displays including educational and recreational exhibits grouped into three zones (Alternative Energy zone, Communications zone and Techno zone) as well as a maze modelled on the planetary system and other technology based attractions. In combination with these elements, the park features a contemporary and futuristic style that provides the park with an individual, vibrant and unique character, unseen before in other parks of Dubai.
The infrastructure of the park is functional and visually appealing in its own right, and incorporates a wide range of facilities such as a boating lake and lakeside restaurant; a sports centre; and exhibition gallery; an activity area including mini golf, adventure play, a skateboard park and a BMX track; informal recreation areas, barbeque facilities, shaded seating and play areas and refreshment kiosks.There are plenty of play areas for children, while adults can spend their time sitting at the lakeside restaurants and enjoying the scenic beauty of the park.
The park has been divided into three zones of 281,000 square metres, 162,000 square metres and 22,000 square metres. The main attraction of the park is a mega bowl, which will be used for organising multi-purpose activities including weddings, parties, birthday functions and other events associated with college and business establishments. Apart from functions, the mega bowl can be used for conducting exhibitions and shows from time to time. A terraced seating arrangement in the mega bowl will accommodate 2,000 people at any one time.
A mini-cricket pitch also forms part of Zabeel Park. Although not as big as a cricket ground, the mini-cricket field with a standard pitch and outfield promises to provide plenty of entertainment for cricket fans.The other important features of the park include a jogging track of 4.3 kilometres surrounding the park with soft and hard landscaping of approximate width 12 metres. A number of date palm trees along with water fountains will dot the lush green park in the heart of the city. The park will also feature a series of high-tech interactive displays including educational and recreational exhibits grouped into three zones.
The park also has three sister city monuments in the form of Geneva, Gold Coast and Istanbul. The city monuments were incorporated in the park as part of sister city agreements between Dubai Municipality and the cities of Geneva, Istanbul and Gold Coast. In the next phase, there will be monuments for the other nine cities with which Dubai has signed sister cities agreements.
The 200 square meter Exhibition Gallery, situated on the main piazza opposite the restaurant, will provide a flexible internal exhibition space which can be used for a variety of exhibitions, by local school and community groups, private companies and by Dubai Municipality. Exhibitions can include a wide range of interests from sculpture and painting to promotions, such as product launches for computers cars or mobile phones, as well as educational displays on innovations from the world of science and technology.
Boating Lake: The ornamental boating lake is the central feature of the southern part of the park and will be filled from a stream cascading down a series of natural rock weirs from a height of 4.0m. A mix of pedal, rowing and battery powered motor boats will be available for hire. An island is incorporated into the design of the lake with a pathway access over two bridges to a lakeside viewing gazebo. A “geyser” fountain will be a central feature within the lake which will erupt to a height of 20 metres once every twenty minutes.
Lakeside Restaurant & Entrance Piazza Restaurant: There are two main restaurants located in the Park. The first is a cafeteria-style restaurant adjacent to the main entrance plaza in the Northern part of the park and provides air-conditioned seating as well as extensive external paved and lawn areas. This restaurant will have an unusual interior décor reflecting the current Internet café trend. The second major restaurant, the Lakeside restaurant, will provide indoor as well as extensive outdoor seating on a timber deck area overlooking the boating lake.
Other features of the park include three refreshment kiosks, Piazza Café, health and fitness centre (a private sector venture, which will be completed by December 2007), Star Gate edutainment centre (another private venture to be completed by next year), Space Maze (modelled on the planetary system), barbeque areas, prayer areas for gents and ladies, boating lake, food court and Assault Course. All three zones of the park are connected by a road train, which transports visitors from one zone to the other.
IFA Hotels & Resorts' offering concluded
Al-Bahar: KD100 million IFA's profits from its Hotels & Resorts
28 December 2005 Jassim M. Al-Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director of International Financial Advisors (IFA), announced the closure of IFA Hotels & Resorts' offering of 117 million shares, which represent 45% of the company's 260 million overall shares, generating KD152 million. IFA achieved a profit of KD100 million from the offering and will enter this profit in the balance sheet for 2005. IFA Hotels & Resorts will be traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange on January 3rd, 2006 and will apply for listing on the Dubai Financial Market in the near future. Furthermore, IFA has recently acquired Moribo Leisure Limited of South Africa, a listed company in JSE, and will change its name to IFA Hotels & Resorts Limited in the first quarter of 2006. Al-Bahar said that "The listing of IFA Hotels & Resorts was a result of IFA's success and achievements in the hospitality sector and based on IFA's strategy to have separate operations and to launch specialised companies. Therefore, the time is right for IFA Hotels & Resorts to become a separate company with an independent and specialised management that will help in achieving the company's goals in a record time and contribute to higher returns that will reflect positively on IFA." IFA Hotels & Resorts is widely recognised as one of the world's leading international companies engaged in the development of premier integrated and mixed-use hotel and tourism resort projects throughout Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean region and Africa, with market capitalization of US$ 1 billion. IFA Hotels & Resorts' projects are either operating or under construction in Dubai, Lebanon, South Africa, Zanzibar, Kenya and Portugal. Al-Bahar concluded by stating that "The success that was achieved in 2005 is a result of the implementation of the strategies of the company and am confident of the future for IFA and its consortium at the local, regional and international level."
Airport Users Fee Withdrawal Welcomed
Dubai: All India Airport User’s Forum (AIAUF) has welcomed the decision to withdraw the airport user’s fee that was being charged from Gulf-bound passengers who used the Cochin International Airport. “We have been following up with this demand for a long time now,” said KM Basheer, General Secretary of AIAUF, which was in the forefront of the protest against the user’s fee at Calicut Airport also. The user’s fee at Calicut was eventually withdrawn after a long legal fight for which the AIAUF had filed cases in the court.He said that the AIAUF also welcomes the Indian government decision to allow Air Arabia to operate services to Kerala sector. “It is a welcome move that will help many poor expatriate travel to their destinations on a reduced fare,” said Basheer.He said it would be only justice if the Indian government allows the proposed Kerala Airlines to operate services to the Gulf sector. “More and more low cost airlines would mitigate the miseries of poor expatriates working in the Gulf countries,” said Basheer.He said the AIAUF strongly support the decision to set up a new airport at Kannur, which will eventually reduce the burden of Calicut airport, one of the busiest airports in India.
Satyan Madakkara to Release Next Book
Dubai: The third book of expatriate poet Satyan Madakkara, “Oru Malsyavum Jalasayam Nirmikkunnilla” (No fish creates the pond), will be released by renowned Malayalam literary personality P Surendran at Everest International Hotel, Bur Dubai at 3pm on January 1. Dubai-based short-story writer Sihabuddeen Poythumkadav will receive the first copy of the book.The book release function, to be organized as part of “Utsav 2006,” the third anniversary celebration of Vatakara NRI Forum Dubai committee, will be inaugurated by Dr. Ahmed Elhag.Prominent personalities in the UAE’s socio-cultural field will deliver felicitation speeches on the occasion. A poetry recital session will also be held as part of the event, which will be participated by leading Malayali poets in the UAE.
Dubai Govt. send 97 for Haj
Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charity Works Dept (DICAD) has decided to send 67 persons including other government departments to Mekka to perform the Haj ritual. The delegation included 97 personals including 30 from the ministry of Education. It would be a holistic journey with guidance from the top scholars said Dr. Hamad Al Shaikh Ahmed Al Shaibani, Director General of (DICAD) and Head of the Haj Delegation. He said that the journey will start on 3rd Jan to the Holy City of Prophet (Madina) after four days stay there the delegation will turn to Makkah to start the ritual of Haj, and the return journey will be on 14th Jan. Dr. Saif Al Jabri Assistant head to the delegation said that all necessary arrangements have completed and look after the affairs related to Hajees the department has choose 6 administrators from the dept. Mohammed Fuzai Public Relation officer said that the stay in Madina and Makka will be nearest place from the Holy Mosques.
Tens killed in remote landslide in Yemen
SANA, 29 December (IRIN) - A landslide on Wednesday night killed at least 22 and injured 30 in the remote village of Dhafeer, about 50 km to the west of the capital, Sana, according to local officials."About 100 people are still beneath the rubble," Abdulwaheid al-Bukhaitin, governor of the Sana province, told IRIN.He added that around 100 houses were evacuated due to the fear of further landslides.The small mountain village is inhabited by some 7,000 people.Government officials, including Vice President Abdu Rabu Manur Hadi and members of parliament, were supervising the evacuation process.As ambulances rushed to the scene of the disaster, a state of emergency was declared in the capital's major hospitals."The situation is catastrophic. A number of people are beneath the rubble and the number of deaths is on the rise," Hashi al-Zein, country representative of the World Health Organization, told IRIN. "We're trying to help evacuate families and provide housing."
UN aid agencies operating in Yemen have also sent teams to the area to assess the situation and help provide relief. Makeshift shelters have been set up on the outskirts of the village.Rescue efforts have been impeded by enormous boulders that largely prevent the use of digging machinery. "We're facing a lot of difficulty in pulling the dead from destroyed houses. People are using simple machines to dig people out," al-Zein said.The governor of Sana has forecast that the search-and-rescue process could last as long as a week to ten days.In the meantime, survivors have been left in shock."I've lost all seven members of my family. My brother died with his 15 children and my cousin and her ten children were also killed. What will I do?" asked wailing Dhafeer resident, Ahmed Ahmed Jamil.
Four Filipino sailors rescued off Bahrain
After more than a year of being stranded in Bahraini waters, four Filipino seafarers are finally returning to their families. The Philippine Embassy in Manama succeeded in securing their custody. Charge d’affaires Jose Burgos said seafarers Romeo Dacanay, Ruben Arcangel Jr., Luis Lamigo Jr. and Novi Peregua are already with the Philippine Embassy and will be repatriated to Manila in time for the New Year, reported Manila Standard, a Newspaper from the Philippines. "The seamen were among the nine Filipino crewmembers of m/v Audrey, a ship that was towed on Dec. 16 last year after a court battle ensued between the charterer, Yasser Marzook of Inventra General Trading-Dubai, and its owner," it said. "Marzook accused Filipino captain and boat owner Ricardo Vincer Jorge of failing to deliver the agreed services after m/v Audrey developed an engine problem while at sea between the coasts of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait," the report added..
“The tugboat had initially a nine all-Filipino crew. The other four seafarers, Genghis Contig, Romy Grantos, Uldarico Ustares and Gregorio Cueto have been repatriated earlier,” Burgos said in his report to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The ninth crewmember, Albert Sampollo, died of a heart attack in June while awaiting the resolution of the case. Burgos thanked Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa and Dr. Dhafer Ahmed Al-Umran, director of bilateral relations, for their positive response to the embassy’s request to allow the Filipinos to be brought home. “After completion of formalities, the Filipino seafarers will be repatriated to the Philippines to join their families for the New Year. The authorities are trying their best to finally resolve the legal dispute between the owner and charterer to recover the sailors’ one-year salaries,” the Filipino diplomat said.
JORDAN: Rights watchdog calls for closure of overcrowded prison
AMMAN, 28 December (IRIN) - A leading human rights organisation has called on the government to close the remote Jafr prison, located in an isolated desert area nearly 256 km south of the capital, Amman."The prison is located in a far away and isolated location that is difficult to reach, and so the inmate loses the opportunity to contact his family," stated a report released this week by the state-financed National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), a quasi-governmental body."The visits become a punishment also for their families due to the distance and cost of reaching [the prison]," stated the report, also noting that there was a perception among detainees that incarceration at Jafr was "an extra punishment."The latest findings from NCHR, Jordan's official human rights watchdog, were compiled after scores of recent meetings with the inmates of 11 prisons.
Jafr prison, first established in 1953, has since become notorious for holding Jordan's leading political dissidents. Many Islamist radicals are currently held there.Overcrowding at the prison, which holds more than 6,000 convicted criminals and political prisoners, in addition to an estimated 3,000 administrative detainees awaiting trial, has resulted in a deterioration of services, the report further noted.
According to the NCHR study, the prison currently holds a total of 2,884 administrative detainees. The report further found that first-time detainees were regularly housed with hardened criminals. While there has been a drop in the number of allegations of inhumane behaviour against inmates, complaints of beatings by prison wardens has been reported in four prisons.The NCHR caused a public outcry when its first report on the state of Jordanian prisons, released in September 2004, noted widespread abuse of prisoners and detailed the alleged beating to death of an Islamist inmate.
The findings echoed earlier reports by international rights groups such as Amnesty International, which have noted the ill-treatment of both political and criminal suspects.2005 witnessed several strikes by political detainees, protesting poor prison conditions and abuse. Many political detainees put on trial say their confessions were extracted under duress.Jordanian authorities deny the alleged violations.
"Any allegations about beatings or torture are totally false, as there is no torture in Jordanian prisons," said police spokesman Maj Muhanad Shareida."But some of the legitimate complaints in the report will be addressed by the appropriate authorities," he added.
LEBANON: Security tightened over New Year following threats
BEIRUT, 29 December (IRIN) - The Lebanese government has increased the presence of security personnel throughout the country ahead of New Year's celebrations, following threats and a series of bomb attacks this year."We have doubled our patrols," said an official from the Beirut police who wished to remain anonymous. "From 700 staff we went up to 1,400," he added.
Temporary checkpoints have been installed throughout the capital and night and day patrols have been brought up from 8 to 25, with 311 officers patrolling at night.In addition, five security officers are posted at the entrance of every mall."The army has also posted troops at the entrance of several towns and in public places throughout the country," the police officer said.
On 22 December, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked the defense and interior ministers to draft an emergency security plan ahead of the festive holidays.The move comes after journalist and MP Gebran Tueini was killed in a car bomb on 12 December.
It was the fourth political killing in Lebanon this year, which started with the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February, followed by three anti-Syrian journalists and politicians.
Syria has been blamed for the bombing, but denies any involvement.A source from the interior ministry said that threats against anti-Syrian politicians and clergymen had increased in the past two weeks."Every day we have 50 to 60 suspected car bombs, people are panicked," the source explained.
In the meantime many citizens have decided to limit their movements"We heard there are high risks of bomb attacks in Tripoli and I am totally panicked," said Maha Bitar, a 30 year-old hairdresser from the northern town of Tripoli.
"I go to work and come home, no outings, no shopping. And for New Year I am staying home," she added."No matter what I say my children will go out on New Year's eve, all I can do is pray nothing will happen to them," said Souhayla Baugi, a 45 year-old housewife from Beirut.Many entertainment and shopping centres have been deserted in the run up to New Year celebrations, this has had a devastating impact on the local economy.
"Compared to last year, we have a 60 percent loss in terms of revenues for the same time period," said Moussa Tawk, owner of the Gallery nightclub in down town Beirut. "People are scared," he added.
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Nepali attempts suicide in Qatar Airport
Vishnu Malla, a Nepali worker, who reached Qatar for foreign employment on Wednesday tried to commit suicide at the Doha International Airport after he found that his documents were fake.
Malla tried to commit suicide by jumping from the second floor of the airport building and sustained severe injuries on the head and legs, the online edition of The Peninsula, Qatar’s leading English Daily reported. He was rushed to a hospital and is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of the Accidents and Emergency department, the paper added. Many Nepalese workers face such problems due to the cheating of the manpower companies
MIDDLE EAST: Interview with Middle East water expert
DUBAI, 28 December (IRIN) - Water availability in the Middle East will continue to remain problematic and a potential source of conflict, according to water expert Dr Walid Saleh.
Dr Saleh has worked with the United Nations University/International Network on Water, Environment and Health in Abu Dhabi since 1996.
In excerpts from an interview with IRIN, he said while some efforts were ongoing to improve supplies, better water management was essential.
QUESTION: How severe is the problem of water scarcity in the Middle East?
ANSWER: It's widely recognised that the Middle East North Africa [MENA] region is by far the driest and most water-scarce in the world, and that this is increasingly affecting the economic and social development of most countries in the region. MENA has 5 percent of the world's population with less than 1 percent of the available freshwater resources.
Today, average per capita water availability in the region is about 1,200 cubic metres per year, while the world's average is close to 7,000.
The annual water availability in the region ranges from a high of about 1,800 cubic metres per person in Iran to less than 200 cubic metres per person in Jordan, the West Bank/Gaza and Yemen. By 2025, regional average water availability is projected to be just over 500 cubic meters per person per year.
While conventional water availability remains relatively constant, the demand is increasing sharply as a result of population growth, increases in household income and irrigation development. Population growth and rapid development are constantly placing increasing demands on the limited water resources.
It is estimated that the need for water supply in the region will increase from 170 billion cubic metres in 2000 to 228 billion cubic metres in 2025.
Q: Why is the Middle East's problem particularly serious?
A: Ninety percent of the region is classified as arid and hyper-arid. The region has low average rainfalls, high summer temperatures and high evaporation and transpiration rates. The limited surface water has to be shared between different countries. Groundwater, the main source of water in many countries, is also being extracted well beyond its renewal rate in some areas.
In some cases, governments are tapping into fossil groundwater resources and, where feasible, have initiated sea water desalination projects. But worsening water quality further reduces the availability of freshwater suitable for domestic and agricultural use and increases the cost of treatment and reuse.
Increased water contamination due to inadequately treated wastewater is also affecting public health - particularly of children - in rural areas, where access to clean water and sanitation is still lacking in most countries of the region.
What's more, the water resource situation is becoming bleaker due to droughts occurring with greater frequency and of longer duration. Droughts have affected almost every country in the region over the past decade.
Q: What are the major problems resulting from water scarcity?
A: Unless improved water management plans are put in place, a series of water-related issues will interact to cause major environmental problems in the future.
These issues include an escalating demand for water; the deterioration of water quality; inefficient methods of wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal; and escalating conflicts over shared surface and groundwater resources if agreements are not reached on equitable allocation.
Q: Which countries in the region are worst affected and why?
A: Jordan and Yemen are the worst affected by water scarcity due to their limited water resources, limited rainfall and lack of finances.
While water resources in Jordan have fluctuated around a stationary average, the country's population has continued to rise. A high rate of natural population growth, combined with massive influxes of refugees, has transformed the comfortable balance between population and water in the first half of this century into a chronic and worsening imbalance in the second half.
The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that Jordan shares most of its surface water resources with neighbouring countries, whose control has partially deprived Jordan of its fair share of water.
The most serious problem in Yemen, meanwhile, is the rapid depletion of groundwater resources. Almost all the important groundwater systems in Yemen are being over-exploited at an alarming rate.
The socio-economic consequences are dramatic and will make groundwater too expensive for use in agriculture in the future. The agricultural economy based on groundwater irrigation is doomed to collapse if water resources are not adequately controlled.
Q: What current means are being employed to address the issue?
A: Several countries have embarked on reforming their water sector and some others have made a good start. Many countries, in partnership with donors and financial institutions, are taking steps in water sector reforms. A shift in thinking and action in water management is slowly taking place in the region.
Q: What methods would be more effective in improving the situation?
A: Despite the efforts being made, the complexity of the water and environmental issue calls for a stronger commitment, especially with regard to legislative frameworks, resources allocated to ensure environmental protection, coordination between policies and strategies and the availability of a comprehensive environmental database.
Water will continue to be a major challenge in the MENA countries. In order to remedy this, governments need to make additional efforts to ensure greater cooperation among their ministries and agencies.
The impending crisis requires a new strategy to alleviate the impact of development activities on freshwater resources and to identify a means of reconciling competing demands for water.
Q: How big a factor is pollution in the shortage of water in the region?
A: The main challenge for the sustainability of water resources is the control of water pollution. Pollution of ground water with heavy metals, the loss of natural ecosystems, the depletion of ground water, pollution of water bodies, and the salinisation of soils are all factors contributing to water scarcity.
Q. What are the solutions to the problem of water pollution?
A: The treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater. Also, advocating organic farming and limiting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to reduce crop, soil and water pollution.
Q: How committed are the region's governments to finding a permanent solution?
A: Generally, all governments in the region are committed to water reforms. However, the level of commitment from one country to another varies depending upon available solutions and finance.
