UAEU organizes international conference ‎‎“Water Resources Management and ‎Sustainability: Solutions in Dry Areas”‎

At Expo 2020 Dubai to coincide with World ‎Water Day

Under the patronage of H. E. Suhail Mohammed ‎Al Mazrouei - Minister of Energy and ‎Infrastructure - and H. E. Minister David Spears ‎‎- Minister of Environment and Water of South ‎Australia - the United Arab Emirates University ‎is organizing the Water Resources Management ‎and Sustainability: Solutions in Dry Areas ‎conference from 22-24 March 2022 in ‎cooperation with Australia Pavilion at Expo 2020 ‎Dubai. The conference is co-organized by the ‎UAEU National Water and Energy Center in ‎collaboration with the South Australian Institute ‎for Water Research.‎

Prof. Ahmed Ali Murad - Associate Provost for ‎Research and conference chairman - stressed that ‎the conference comes in line with the university s ‎vision to support development and priority of ‎UAE, and in accordance with UAE agenda for ‎advanced sciences 2031 and UAE s water ‎security strategy 2036. He explained that there ‎are several factors including, among others, ‎population growth, urbanization and climate ‎change that contribute to the scarcity of fresh ‎water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. The ‎water shortage problem constitutes a major ‎constraint to sustainable development, and poses ‎significant challenges to the use and management ‎of water resources. This conference aims to ‎discuss global water issues and address future ‎challenges in line with the theme of Expo 2020 ‎Dubai - Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. ‎This vision also adopts the theme of World ‎Water Day this year. He added: This conference ‎represents an important platform for exchanging ‎and presenting new visions and introducing ‎innovative techniques and unconventional ‎practices that would improve the future of water ‎management and sustainability in arid and semi-‎arid regions around the world. The conference ‎will help to discover appropriate solutions for ‎the future challenges in the field of water resource ‎management and sustainability.‎

Dr. Mohsen Sharif, Director of the National ‎Water and Energy Center, explained that the ‎conference program expands for four days, ‎including 6 interactive workshops to be delivered ‎by international experts, on several topics such ‎as: applications of modern water technologies, ‎geographic information systems, remote sensing ‎and artificial intelligence, climate change impacts, ‎water sustainability and others. In addition to ‎‎132 keynote and oral presentations, 32 poster ‎presentations will be made on water harvesting, ‎groundwater recharge, desalination technologies, ‎wastewater treatment and reuse, and climate ‎change. In collaboration with the Ministry of ‎Energy and Infrastructure, A field visit to the ‎Rafisah Dam in Khor Fakkan, Northern Emirates, ‎will be organized.‎

The topics of the conference include:‎

• Social and Economic Water Studies.‎
• Advanced techniques in managing water ‎resources.‎
• Climate change and resilience of water ‎resources.‎
• Development and management of non-‎conventional water resources (water desalination, ‎water recycling, and water reuse).‎
• Sustainability of water resources (sustainable ‎development goals, the relationship between ‎water, food and energy, social and economic ‎growth, and environmental sustainability in dry ‎areas).‎
• Water resources and hydrological processes ‎‎(rainwater harvesting, flash flood forecasting and ‎management).‎
• Management of coastal areas and water ‎sources.‎
• Water quality management.‎
• Spatial techniques, geographic information ‎systems, remote sensing, and their uses in ‎managing water resources.‎