Saudi Minister Denies Land Bridge to Egypt Plans
Following a rather mixed reaction to the news that plans were afoot to build a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi via the Red Sea, the Saudi Minister of Transport has denied any agreement between the countries. Speaking to the Arab News, the minister said, “There is no any such agreement to the effect between the ministry and any other party concerning the project.”

Whilst the project’s future now appears in limbo, it has been estimated that if the bridge was built it would bring in 1.2 million Saudi tourists (and their cars) every year. The present number of visitors is currently 300,000. For a thorough look at the environmental concerns surrounding the land and sea bridge proposal see this blogpost by Egyptian blogger Zeinobia.
:: Arab News

Protests Against Nuclear Power in Turkey
As part of a wider Greenpeace campaign, protestors gathered outside the Hagia Sofia Museum in Istanbul to highlight the dangers of nuclear. The protest marks the lead up to the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster in Japan which will take on March 11. According to campaigners, the day of action is also to remind us of the fact that the world’s more than 400 nuclear reactors pose an ongoing threat to the hundreds of millions of people who live in their shadow.
: Image and information via Greenpeace Arabic.

Muslim Nations Meet To Talk Water
Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met in Istanbul on Monday 5 March to “develop a common vision regarding water”. The conference which included 62 OIC member countries, approved a final statement which recommended more nations co-operate in water research and co-ordinate their water-related organizations and campaigns. Countries in attendance include Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Syria, Libya, Oman and Turkey. No doubt the conference was important, although it seems the power of OIC as well as the action actually taken by the group is limited.
:: Arab News

The Road to Doha
In the lead up to the climate summit in Doha, Qatar, there is a distinct effort to get the region up to scratch on climate change issues. And Carboun, the sustainability consultancy, is playing its part. It recently published a ‘everything you need to know about climate change’ article by William Yassine which not only very readable but has lots of diagrams and infographics to help you get your head around the climate science and politics. Carboun is also promising more MENA-focused climate change guides in the future.
:: Read the ‘Road to Doha: An Introduction to Climate Change’ here.

For more green news nuggets see:
Saudi Arabia’s Climate U-Turn?

Saudi Arabia, Corals, Aviation and Basil- Green News Snippets

Saturday’s Green News Snippets – February 25 2012

The post Saudi’s Bridge Plans and Nuclear Protest in Turkey- News Snippets appeared first on Green Prophet.

We speak to Karim Elgendy, founder of the Middle East sustainability initiative ‘Carboun’ about what motivates his work and why green ratings for buildings aren’t a silver bullet

Last month, Carboun an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in the Middle East celebrated its second anniversary. Headed by Karim Elgendy they have certainly come a long way in very short space of time. Since its launch Carboun has moved from producing some great infographics highlighting environmental issues in the Middle East, to playing an active role in green projects in the region. As well as a growing team of representatives, they are hosting an event at the UN Conference of Parties (COP 18) at Doha in December and have also launched 24/7 Electricity, a research project that looks into energy generation challenges in Lebanon. I caught up with Karim to find out more about Carboun, the major challenges ahead and what sustainable design can do for the region.

Aburawa: I understand you work as an architect and a sustainability consultant – why is sustainability important to you?

Elgendy: The architect’s role is to ensure a balance between human comfort and enjoyment on one hand, and the efficient use of resources on the other. This balance is at the core of the global sustainability discourse, with much of the current efforts focused on finding ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts on the environment, while maintaining the current economic development levels and the improvements in quality of life they have brought. In the developing world, including the Middle East, sustainability is all about establishing functioning economic models with this balance built in.

Aburawa: What motivated you to setup the Carboun initiative?

Elgendy: Carboun was founded to promote sustainability in the Middle East. I was motivated by a fundamental belief in the global need to transition to a more sustainable development model for our cities. I was also motivated by a desire to reverse the adverse impacts that the Middle East’s prevalent development models have had on its economic development.

Additionally, Carboun’s knowledge emphasis was born out of a concern I had regarding the scarcity of basic information about the region, especially where it relates to the built environment. This particular concern helped shape Carboun’s mission to include creating a body of regional knowledge that others can build on – ultimately helping to establish a knowledge foundation for sustainable development in the region.

Aburawa: What common misconceptions are there about green buildings and green architecture?

Elgendy: The term ‘green buildings’ itself is rather problematic since there is no clear definition of what this means. As a result, the most common misconception is stakeholders’ partial understanding of how to reduce the impact of a given building on the environment. As a result of this incomplete understanding, buildings branded as ‘green’ have very different sustainability emphasis even when in close geographical proximity.

This leads to the second common misconception about green buildings. In the absence of a clear definition of a sustainable design, many have resorted to equating it with certification using one of the common rating systems such as LEED, BREEAM, or Estidama’s Pearls.

While rating systems are useful since they help us benchmark building performance, they also differ greatly in their emphasis and are themselves in a continuous state of development. A building certified under LEED in 2007 for example has a much lower level of “greenness” than one certified in 2011. In addition, this equation between the two led to a check-list design culture that often stifles innovation.

Aburawa: How does sustainable architecture help countries deal with other environmental issues such as energy use and water?

Elgendy: Buildings – both commercial and residential – are responsible for a substantial portion of any given country’s energy use. And while the size of this portion varies by region, reducing energy use in buildings has the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions of that country.

Ensuring that new buildings do not compound our energy and water challenges is a mandatory first step. This must be followed by much larger efforts to reduce energy use in existing building stock. Sustainable architecture can also play a positive role in reducing water use, encouraging the use of public transportation, reducing the impact of a development on global resources by considerate use of materials and on local ecosystems by careful planning.

Aburawa: What green project has inspired you architecturally and why?

Elgendy: I am generally most inspired by projects where innovative design solutions, rather than technology, have been employed to make buildings more sustainable. One of my favorite buildings is the Tjibaou Cultural Center in the south Pacific islands of New Caledonia

Aburawa: Clearly, water shortages and water scarcity are big issues in the Middle East so what can those looking at green buildings do to help preserve this precious resource?

Elgendy: Water scarcity is a major challenge in the Middle East that sustainable design professionals in the region are beginning to address. However, the significance of buildings in the overall water picture varies across the region. In Egypt and Iraq for example, fourth fifths of water is diverted towards agriculture with only 6% and 3% respectively going to domestic use in buildings. Conserving water here is better done through improving the predominant inefficient agricultural methods.

In the Gulf sub-region on the other hand, domestic share of water use is around 25% of total use, and much of the water comes from non-renewable and energy-intensive desalination processes. Reducing water water in this sub-region’s buildings can help bring energy, environmental, and economic benefits.

Aburawa: In the past, you have criticized some green buildings in the Middle East for using “high-tech aesthetic developed by European architects” such as glazing which is unsuitable for the region. Has the region been able to move beyond this and work around its own environment and develop its own strengths and aesthetic?

Elgendy: The practice of sustainable design in the Middle East has indeed moved beyond this. In fact the turn around started happening a few years ago, and I am beginning to see a variety of balanced design approaches in new projects around the region.

Aburawa: What is the most challenging aspect of bringing together sustainability and architecture?

Elgendy: One of the main challenges in bringing sustainability and architecture together is the fundamental contradiction between the process of creating new buildings – an energy and resource intensive process with an ecological footprint beyonds its site boundary – and conserving natural resources and the environment. Because of this contradiction, some go as far as suggesting that the most sustainable building is a building that already exists. However, given that population growth and economic development are creating a continuous demand for new buildings, the challenge here is accepting the need for development but trying to reduce its ecological footprint.

:: Carboun

Image supplied by Karim Elgendy

For more on Carboun’s work see:

The Middle East’s Carbon Emissions At A Glance (Infographic)

Water and the Middle East At A Glance (Infographic)

CO2 Emissions In MENA to Double In 30 Years

The post Sustainable Architecture In The Middle East – Interview with Karim Elgendy appeared first on Green Prophet.

Water murals in the Gaza Strip explore the daily struggle with water shortage and water contamination

The Gaza Strip is known to indulge in political murals but water murals are definitely a new thing. Over the summer months, US activists along with local artists, teachers and school children got together to paint 8 murals exploring the water struggles of the Gaza Strip. Murals were painted on the walls of elementary schools and near water desalination units in areas such as Beit Hanoun, Rafah and Bureij Camp.

Artists from the Oakland-based Estria Foundation and the Olympia-Rafah Mural Project worked with local school children to decide on the themes and images that the murals would depict. Many of the children talked about their concerns about dirty water dumped into the sea where they swim and fisherman get their catch.

The murals, which are as large as 1,000 square feet, highlight the important role of water and the need for clean drinking water and better sewage removal in the Gaza Strip. Import restriction imposed by the Israeli government mean that Gazans are currently struggling to extend and repair their water and sewage infrastructure.

The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) has helped raise funds to build much-needed water purification and desalination systems for Palestinian schools via the project. The murals were painted at the sites of these desalination units. MECA has been able to provide water systems for 14 UN schools and 13 kindergartens across the Gaza Strip

Ewash, a Gaza-based water rights advocacy group, reports a 90-95 percent water contamination rate in the region and found that the daily water consumption rate was 30% below the WHO recommended water use for health and hygiene purposes.

For more on Gaza see:

Israel Considers Building Artificial Island Off Gaza Coast

Gaza’s Green Roofs of Herbs and Vegetables

The Dome Mosque In Gaza Under Repair

The post The Stunning Water Murals of Gaza (PHOTOS) appeared first on Green Prophet.

The arid and water scarce environment of Yemen makes life very difficult for the average Yemeni. Malnutrition and poverty are real problems which are only exacerbated by a widespread addiction to the narcotic, qat, which requires a lot of water to grow. Sana’a, the capital city of the country has even been tipped to be the first waterless capital in the world. However, not all hope is lost. A new series of videos released at The Water Channel highlight the fact that although many Yemeni communities struggle due to water scarcity, these communities are also resilient and have centuries of experiences conserving water.

The former Yemeni minister for water and the environment, Abdulrahman F. Al-Eryani explains that Yemen has a long history of water scarcity and so have they been forced to work on its sustainable management for many years. “Without sustainable management, Yemenis would not have survived the climate and geography of Yemen,” he adds. However, a growth in the population has meant a rise in the number of drilled wells, which has put real pressure on the groundwater supplies

A recent study by the Water and Environmental centre in Yemen found that the use of groundwater for agriculture shot up from 37,000 ha in 1970 to 400,000 ha in 2005. Another more encouraging find was that many farmers are already working together to regulate groundwater use. A

cross Yemen, there are various water users associations and co-operatives which monitor the use of water and restrict well drilling to help groundwater resources recharge.

In places such as Kharabat, the Al-Sinah valley in Taiz, as well as the Qarada valley, local people are working together to manage their limited water supplies more effectively and also avoid water conflict (which often breaks out into violence) in Yemen. In some instances, the informal networks have been so successful at conserving water effectively that there is a strong case to build them into the formal policy processes.

As Al-Eryani states, “A combination of new, adaptive laws and regulations that build on ancient traditions, that have proven to be successful for thousands of years, is the solution for Yemen.”

To see the short videos looking at these communities and others go to the The Water Channel. MeteMeta have worked with Levert Communications & Culture, Water and Environment, Yemen to produce the video series which are available in English and Arabic.

For more on water issues in Yemen see:

Yemen May Be First Country To Run Out Of Water

Yemen’s Water Crisis Could Worsen Security

Yemen’s Economic and Environmental Problems Linked To Chewing Gat (Qat)

The post Yemeni Communities Working Together To Save Water appeared first on Green Prophet.

According to recent research, an increase in wintertime droughts in the Mediterranean is partly down to human-caused climate change

Over the last 20 years, 10 of the driest winters have taken place in the Mediterranean region that stretches from Gibraltar to the Middle East. As the region accumulates most of its precipitation during the wintertime, an increased dryness during this season is particularly worrying. According to scientist, this emerging trend may have a significant impact on water resources and food security in the future.

Scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) published a report in the Journal of Climate stating that the magnitude and frequency of the drying in the Mediterranean region is “too great to be explained by natural variability.”

The researchers discovered a pattern of increased wintertime droughts and attributed around half of the drying to climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. They found that greenhouse gases are warming tropical oceans more than other ocean regions and this is pushing drought-conductive weather patterns in the Mediterranean.

The scientists, who looked at data from 1902-2010, also found that the shift towards drier winters began around the 1970s. This coincides with the timing of ocean temperature changes which are closely linked to the wintertime droughts.

The Mediterranean region, like the Middle East, is an area that suffers from water scarcity. However researchers wanted to examine whether the projected drying was also occurring in winter – the most important season for water resources. Scientists now say that the evidence shows it is.

Martin Hoerling, lead author of a paper told sciencedaily.com: “This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to return the region’s climate to normal.”

More evidence, if we ever needed it, that we must take serious action on climate change now.

: Science Daily

:: Images via NOAA

For more on water issues and drought see:

Bono Fixes the World The Jewish Way of Sukkot

The Horn Of Africa Famine: A Cautionary Tale For MENA

Bahrain Gives A $4 million Post-Ramadan Gift To Famine-Struck Somalia

The post Wintertime Droughts Increase Due To Climate Change appeared first on Green Prophet.

Jordan looks into the advantages of nuclear and we debunk the ‘green’ arguments for going nuclear

Whilst Turkey reassesses its own nuclear plans following a devastating earthquake, Jordan is still exploring the pros and cons of going radioactive. A recent meeting held in Amman brought together various NGOs, experts and academics for the 4^th International Symposium on Nuclear Energy. Issues such as the Fukushima incident, safety and the need for transparency came up but so did the advantages of nuclear power for water security. So can nuclear power ever really be justified on environmental terms?

Desalination and Nuclear Energy

“A Jordanian nuclear power project that is linked to desalination would be able to effectively address all these issues [fears over safety] and would also be one way in which we could save the Dead Sea, which is shrinking by one to two metres annually,” said Middle East Scientific Institute for Security Director General Sharif.

It’s an interesting argument but not one which holds out to scrutiny. One of the dangers of linking nuclear power to desalination (which is notoriously energy intensive) is that you could end up in a vicious cycle of needing to make more water to cool nuclear reactors so you can make more energy for water desalination. However, this is not the first time that nuclear energy has been proposed as a solution to an environmental problem. In fact, there have been incidents of green activist justifying nuclear power as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Nuclear Is Too Slow To Be Useful

Until a couple years ago, the stance that many green campaigners and activists took on nuclear power was a simple one- they were against it. However, renowned environmentalists such as Mark Lynas are now taking a more supportive stance on nuclear power for various reasons. One of the main ones being that the shift away from burning fossil fuels straight to renewable energy isn’t realistic and also that nuclear can cut emissions. Whilst these may be valid arguments, others campaigners such as professor Kevin Anderson who leads the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, insists that nuclear doesn’t add up (environmentally).

Why Ignore Huge Potential Of Renewables?

Anderson argues that even IF there was a way to build safe and carbon-free nuclear reactors, they couldn’t be built fast enough to help us deal with climate change. And when you consider the renewable energy potential – especially of countries such as the UK and Europe- embracing nuclear just doesn’t make sense.

Looking back at the Middle East, the argument applies just as well. Jordan won’t be making electricity from nuclear energy until 2019 and that’s if the contractors don’t experience any delays or problems. What’s more with energy experts themselves telling the region that solar energy is going to be the most important source of energy in the Middle East in the next decade, surely solar and not nuclear is the way forward?

: Image via mediafreedominternational.

For more energy stories from the Middle East see:

Energy Experts Tell Arab World That ‘Solar Is The Future’

Greenpeace Raises More Questions Over Jordan’s Nuclear Plans

UAE Stands By Its Nuclear Plans

The post Can Nuclear Power Ever Be Justified For Environmental Reasons? appeared first on Green Prophet.

“Let the world see the openness of Israel,” wrote one participant. Fortunately, mostly positive press dominates the Naked Sea photoshoot, which took place on private property along the shores of the salty lake.

Prior to the Spencer Tunick photo shoot at the Dead Sea this Saturday, international coverage of the famed artists latest installation was as barren as the landscape surrounding the world’s lowest point. Now that the Naked Sea project went off without a stitch, the world outside of Israel is reacting. And that’s good news for the Middle East’s only democracy.

Tunick has insisted from the onset that his intention was to raise awareness of the plight of the Dead Sea. Shrinking on one end because of decreased fresh water flow, and being stripped of its minerals on the other, the lake may dry up by the middle of this century. His full frontal coverage of 1000+ naked Israelis seen floating on the water or standing on the shoreline that once was part of the lake has brought many to appreciate this rarified natural wonder.

Thanks to Tunick, the international community is also focused on the humane side of Israel, a place usually beleaguered by the press.

The AFP reported:

For Ari Frucht, who initiated the project and has toiled over its preparations for the past four years, a work by Spencer Tunick could help raise awareness of the sea’s condition and galvanize Israel’s government into action.

He believes there is another aspect, too, to the Jewish state hosting such a shoot.

“The world needs to know that Israelis are not religious extremists,” he said ahead of the event.

The Vancouver Sun had this to say:

For Tunick, a Jewish American who has arranged naked human bodies over prominent landscapes and landmarks ranging from a Swiss glacier to the Sydney Opera House, a nude installation is an indicator of a host country’s openness.

“In some places the work is a little bit more controversial, and then in other places the works are accepted as a litmus test for how free a country is, or how open a country is, and how full of rights a country is,” he told a press briefing.

“For me, a country that allows the nude in art, in public space is some place that’s very progressive, very open, and very caring, and very dignified.”

Many news agencies including the AP, TIME, Washington Post, CBSNews and Sydney Morning Herald spotlighted Tunick’s praise for Israel “as the only country in the Middle East with the freedom for one of his trademark nude shoots.”  Many also highlighted that the location, kept secret until the 11th hour, was very close to the fabled Biblical towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.

At the time of this article, Reuters, an agency often criticized for it’s especially negative press coverage on Israel, had not yet posted anything about this weekend’s successful art exposure. Outside of Israeli press, Middle East news coverage was also limited.

Not surprisingly, the DailyMail covered the morning events from a distance, far enough to take photos of the models and the planes and ultra-light aircraft trying to sneak a peak. Please read “Isn’t it a bit chilly?” for the full photo spread.

Despite some religious protest and threats from the local municipality to block Tunick because of perceived inappropriateness of that many nude Israelis posing in a public landmark, private accounts – including a first-hand description here on Greenprophet – of those in attendance describe the Zen-like experience in the early morning hours of the Naked Sea art project.

“Today I feel refreshed and inspired by what we all have done. As Israelis, tourists, as concerned citizens of the world,” wrote Alex Gutman, the participant who gave an exclusive first hand account to Greenprophet.

“Let the world see the openness of Israel. The freedom we enjoy is twisted around by those such as the ones at the Durban conference. Why are we being isolated? Why are we being accused of racism? Apartheid? If anyone wants to take a look at real Apartheid, they should go to Saudi Arabia, where Jews are not even allowed to visit. Where women are second class citizens. Let the news of this great event be spread around the world.”

:: Daily Mail

Read More Naked Sea news here:

My ‘Naked’ Account Getting Naked for the Dead Sea

Deepest Wonder of the World About to get Naked

1000 Naked Israelis Strip for the Dead Sea

Tinamarie is a regular contributor to Greenprophet.com. Follow her @ModernLoveMuse. She blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

The post Full Frontal Exposure: World Reacts to Naked Israelis (photos) appeared first on Green Prophet.

Water trouble has forced residents at Dubai’s man-made Palm Island to wash in the sea and use toilets at shopping malls

The sustainability and usefulness of Dubai’s artificial palm-shaped Island has been widely debated but I think a recent problem at one luxury complex has ironically helped raise awareness of how difficult life can be without water. Water system failure at the seven-building Oceana complex means that Dubai residents have been forced to shower in pools, scrub down in the sea and rely on toilets facilities at nearby shopping centres.

The Middle East is notorious for its water scarcity. As well as topping the charts at the most water insecure region in the world along with sub-Saharan Africa, there have been numerous reports pointing out that the problem is set to get worse when climate change kicks in. Despite these reports, statistics and warnings, it is still hard to actually visualise what life would be like without a steady flow of water.

The ease with which we have access to clean water means that many of us barely stop to think about how much we rely on it. Washing our clothes is a simple case of putting our clothes in the washing machine, pressing a few buttons and off it goes. The same goes for when we flush our toilets. Do you know how much water your washing machine or toilet goes through in every use? Do you know how much water is takes to shower? I know I don’t know.

The only sense I got of how much water my toilet uses was when it broke down and I had to pour lots and lots of water down it to flush it. After a while it was a case of  ‘If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown flush it down’.

So, next time you turn the tap on and water comes out- remember that it may not always be that way especially if you live in the Middle East. What’s more, the hardship that residents of the Oceana complex are currently experiencing in Dubai is only a fraction of the impact that large-scale water shortages would have on agriculture, the economy as well as political stability.

(The floating islands in Dubai have also been shown to have a negative impact on the surrounding marine environment, with reports of stagnating water attracting mosquitoes and algae.)

For more on water issues in the Middle East:

Is The Middle East Taking Climate Change Seriously?

Syria Launches Water Scarcity Park

Desertification in Egypt Is Putting Food Supplies At Risk

The post Trouble In Paradise: Water Failure At Luxury Apartments In Dubai appeared first on Green Prophet.

In the arid landscapes of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, water has always been a huge issue. Whilst desalination which removes salt from water may have offered a temporary (and very expensive) solution to this age-old problem, in the past, drought and a dwindling supply of naturally available water meant that waste wasn’t tolerated and conservation was the order of the day.

Nothing attests to this more than the two and half thousand year old architectural water wonder that is the ‘Aflaj‘ system.

The aflaj water system (falaj in singular) is an ancient technique by which underground tunnels are dug to channel water from distant sources to villages where it was needed. It’s a tried and tested method which helps conserve water and is still used around the world today in places such as the Sahara desert and Oman.

In Islam, water is held in such high regard that its life-giving properties are mentioned in the Qur’an sixty-three times and paradise is described as “gardens beneath which rivers flow.” Muslims also make wudu before prayers five times a day by washing with water and the Prophet Muhammed stated that amongst the people God will ignore on the day of resurrection include those “[who] possessed superfluous water on a way and withheld it from travellers.”

As such, water is declared a public good that must be available to all and shared between everyone fairly. Much like Hima, an ancient form of land conservation which was embraced and extended under Islamic rule, the aflaj water management system precedes the advent of Islam.

However following Islamic principles, water from a falaj was declared public property and so couldn’t be diverted for personal use- the common presence of aflaj at mosques demonstrates its communal use.

Aflaj are still widespread in Oman where there are currently 4,112 such channels with an annual flow of 680 million cubic metres. Indeed, five of these aflaj were included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage lists in the past and the government reported back in 2006 that it spent one million Omani riyals every year on preserving them.

In Oman, the oldest falaj is believed to be 2,500 years old whilst the first falaj built in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), discovered in 1985 in Al Ain, dates back to the Iron Age.

Whilst some Gulf States may believe they have resolved their water scarcity problems through desalination, there is still a lot to learn from the ancient aflaj system which not only supplied clean water cheaply and effectively but also reminded the masses of the preciousness of water.

For more on water issues in the Middle East see:

Zam Zam Holy Water ‘Unsuitable for Human Consumption”

How Islam Could Help Fight Water Scarcity

The Best Way To Preserve Water? Make It More Expensive

The post Aflaj: Ancient Channels Keep Water Flowing In The Desert appeared first on Green Prophet.

Without its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia’s 27 million inhabitants would eventually starve. At a recent social event, the country’s Minister of Agriculture Fahd Balghunaim warned that the ratio of food and water in the kingdom is perilously out of balance.

But oil wealth currently ensures that its own population will be fed in the decades to come, as it enables the kingdom to invest huge sums to develop agriculture projects in Africa, Turkey, and elsewhere. By 2100, at least 10,ooo,ooo,ooo people will be jostling for food and other natural resources. As long as it continues to earn money from oil exports, Saudi will not get left behind.

In addition to its projected $2.5 billion investment in Ethiopia and $600 billion in Turkey’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors over the next two decades, Saudi Arabia currently spends $1 billion on food imports every month.

These ease pressure on the domestic agricultural sector, which uses up scant water resources. With desalination providing nearly 70% of its total water supply and quickly usurping its finite oil resources, the Kingdom has resorted to several plans to cut back water use.

Mr. Balghunaim said that his ministry is growing less wheat in favor of increasing less water-intensive berseem fodder production and that new irrigation methods are being explored. He also lamented that the Al-Jouf olive festival is an “extravagance of no benefit.”

An unknown company has invested $50 million to establish a center of sustainable agriculture and an international council for dates will be headquartered in Riyadh.

Since date palm trees consume considerable quantities of water, Mr. Balghunaim noted that Saudi is not interested in “going over the top with them” and that the kingdom is currently mostly concerned with packaging rather than production.

Peak oil is the kingdom’s leading nemesis. Currently 80% of its revenues are based on petroleum, which its own residents are burning at speed. Remove oil from the equation, and Saudi Arabia stands to lose so much more than just the food war.

:: Gulf in the Media

More on Saudi oil, water, and food:

Saudi Aramco 80 Year Reserves vs. German Peak Oil

Why Finnish Tap Water is Shipped To Saudi Arabia

Wikileaks: Bahrain and Saudi Concerns Over Food Prices

image via zbig photography

The post How Saudi Arabia Plans To Win The Food War appeared first on Green Prophet.