Write a report assessing the feasibility of different water techniques Essay

Write a report assessing the feasibility of different water techniques for providing fresh water to arid regions of the world - Essay Example anagement is required along with the implementation of specific techniques for providing fresh water particularly to the arid and semi-arid regions of the world (Kundzewicz & Mata 2007). â€Å"Only 2.5 percent of water on earth is fresh water, the remaining 97.5 percent is brackish or saline water† (Ragheb 2011: 1). The fresh water is present 0.4 percent in lakes and rivers, 30.9 percent as ground water, and 68.7 percent as snow and ice. A major requirement for water is in agriculture and food production, using three-quarters of the fresh water from rivers, lakes and aquifers. Further, water is essential in the production of energy by power plants which use billions of gallons of water per year to produce steam to power its turbines. There are over 21,000 desalination plants across About one-third of the land surface on earth is either arid with less than 250 mm of annual precipitation, or semi-arid with precipitation between 250 mm and 500 mm. The lack of freshwater resources hamper sustainable development in these regions. On the other hand, â€Å"growing population, increasing standard of living, and expanding opportunities exert increasing demands for varyied needs for water† (Singh, Sherif & Al Rashid 2002: ix) for agriculture, industry, waste disposal, power generation, navigation, transportation, recreation and other requirements. As a result of greater oil revenues, unprecedented economic and social transformation have taken place in the countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, these Gulf Cooperative Council countries face major challenges in water resource management. The main reasons include unsustainable use of ground water resources, lack of urban water demand management, institutional and legal constraints, and limited role of private sector. To address these issues, the government has formulated policy recommendations that includes