Dr Walid Al-Zubari, Professor of Water Resources Management, Arabian Gulf University, Coordinator of the Water Resources Management Program, College of Graduate Studies Coordinator of the UN Water Learning Centre for the Arab Region at the Arabian Gulf University speaks to Bahrain Food Monitor about nature’s precious resource – water.
From a risk-based perspective, the main challenge facing the water sector is securing domestic water supplies during emergencies.
During that time, the Arabian Cull University was a project established in the early 1980s and funded by the six CCC countries to serve a number of objectives. the political one is to be a symbol of unity among the CCC countries and to have CCC nationals studying under one roof, and the developmental objective to address major challenging issues facing the CCC countries, such as water, food. energy, and environment through the provision of unique non-traditional academic program In these topics. I applied and after passing the interview and some exams. I was employed as a graduate assistant. but was asked to change my specialisation from petroleum to water, which was given a priority among the university academic programs. i.e, this foresight of the university founding fathers is the reason why I ended up working in water in the CCC countries!
In 19841 was awarded a scholarship by the Arabian Gulf University to obtain my masters and PhD degrees. I obtained my MSc degree In 1987 in the field of groundwater mathematical modeling from Ohio University and then my PhD degree in 1990 in the same field from Colorado State University. and then joined AGU in 1990 as an assistant professor in water resources, and I am still with the university.
What has your research shown you about water security in Bahrain/Get?
It should be noted that water security, like energy, food, health
and environmental securities are unconventional security issues. While conventional security generally refers to protecting states, groups and individuals from military threats and with defined responsible institutions for dealing with these threats, these unconventional security issues have no similar clarity of definition nor clear institutions to deal with them.
As an important input in national socio-economic development and Its political role between riparian countries, the term ‘water security has a wide range of perspectives and meanings. and spans many issues. It varies from one country to another. from one spatial scale to another (city. country, group of countries), and even from institution to another within a given country. For example. for a downstream country of a shared river basin – such as Syria. Iraq and Egypt -water security is referred to In the context of securing water rights in the river basin. For some countries. the term is associated with protecting domestic water supply from adversarial actions (e.g.. perspective of USA homeland Security). In the CCC countries. the term water security is repeatedly indicated when referring to securing domestic water supply during emergencies. In some countries, such as Canada. water security is meant not only to ensure water supplies to humans and economic &WRNS,
but also for ecosystem health.
However, there is a consensus now that water security has five key dimensions that we need to look at seriously when evaluating its level in a given country. I.e.. at the national level. These are
- Household water security (access to water supply and sanitation and hygiene)
- Economic water security (water productivity in consuming sectors)
- Urban water security (urban supply and wastewater treatment coverage and flood damage)
- Environmental water security (externalities from water system)
- Resilience to water-related disasters and emergencies.