Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, addressing the UN 2023 Water Conference. Photo: UN
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, addressing the UN 2023 Water Conference. Photo: UN
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, addressing the UN 2023 Water Conference. Photo: UN
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, addressing the UN 2023 Water Conference. Photo: UN

Collective action needed to address global water scarcity, says Al Mheiri


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Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Minister of State for Food Security, has said collective action needs to be taken to address the challenge of global water scarcity.

Addressing the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, which coincides with World Water Day, Ms Al Mheiri said innovative solutions are needed to overcome the impact of climate change.

“The stress on our water systems is contributing in evermore concrete ways to food shortages, farmer-herder tensions and migration, ultimately undermining stability in the most fragile areas,” Ms Al Mheiri said.

“With impacts of climate change manifesting most concretely through water — via droughts, flooding, tsunamis — these trends are only likely to worsen.

“The UAE will continue to work with its partners to ensure that the council focuses on practical ways to warranty that climate risks inform its decision-making.”

The UAE depends heavily on desalination — a process that removes salt from seawater — to supply water for drinking and industrial purposes.

Up to 42 per cent of the UAE's potable water requirement comes from about 70 major desalination plants, which account for about 14 per cent of the world's total production of desalinated water.

In 2017, the UAE launched the Water Security Strategy 2036 which aims to ensure sustainability and continuous access to water at any time and condition.

The strategy is centred on ensuring sustainability and continuity of access to water.

It plans to reduce the total demand for water resources by 21 per cent, reducing the water scarcity index by three degrees and increase the rate of reuse of treated water to 95 per cent. The water scarcity index is a measure of how heavily a country’s water assets are used.

Last year, Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said the country was well on track to achieving these goals.

He said the country was moving away from relying on groundwater and energy intensive methods of desalination.

Authorities in the UAE are developing more energy-efficient desalination plants that use reverse osmosis — a low energy way to purify water using membrane technology. Renewable energy systems are also being used in these plants, creating greater efficiencies.

Mr Al Mazrouei said the UAE would also share its expertise on conservation with nations facing water scarcity.

World Water Day - in pictures

  • A man washes clothes on the banks of the river Brahmaputra on World Water Day (March 22) in Guwahati, India. AP Photo
    A man washes clothes on the banks of the river Brahmaputra on World Water Day (March 22) in Guwahati, India. AP Photo
  • The cracked earth of the Sau reservoir north of Barcelona, Spain. AP Photo
    The cracked earth of the Sau reservoir north of Barcelona, Spain. AP Photo
  • With no running water at home, a woman fills a container at a water fill station in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP Photo
    With no running water at home, a woman fills a container at a water fill station in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP Photo
  • Carmelo Del Valle, displaced from his home by the rising waters of the Paraguay River, fills buckets to haul to his temporary shelter in Asuncion, Paraguay. AP Photo
    Carmelo Del Valle, displaced from his home by the rising waters of the Paraguay River, fills buckets to haul to his temporary shelter in Asuncion, Paraguay. AP Photo
  • Women carry water on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. More than 17 million of Yemen's 30-million population lack access to safe water, the UN says. EPA
    Women carry water on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. More than 17 million of Yemen's 30-million population lack access to safe water, the UN says. EPA
  • A woman returns home after collecting drinking water from a tanker on World Water Day in New Delhi, India. Wednesday is the 30th anniversary of World Water Day. AP Photo
    A woman returns home after collecting drinking water from a tanker on World Water Day in New Delhi, India. Wednesday is the 30th anniversary of World Water Day. AP Photo
  • A man in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a day before World Water Day. Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi announced an investment of about $5 billion to achieve universal access to drinking water by 2030. EPA
    A man in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a day before World Water Day. Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi announced an investment of about $5 billion to achieve universal access to drinking water by 2030. EPA
  • People wash clothes in a public pool of spring water in Japakeh, Indonesia, on World Water Day. AFP
    People wash clothes in a public pool of spring water in Japakeh, Indonesia, on World Water Day. AFP
  • A photograph taken on March 16, 2023 shows the dried-up lake Serre-Poncon, near Embrun in the French Alps. AFP
    A photograph taken on March 16, 2023 shows the dried-up lake Serre-Poncon, near Embrun in the French Alps. AFP
  • A woman washing up outside her house in a slum on the eve of World Water Day in Mumbai, India. AP Photo
    A woman washing up outside her house in a slum on the eve of World Water Day in Mumbai, India. AP Photo
  • The Satluj river in the valley below the snowy peaks in Kinnaur district of the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India. AP Photo
    The Satluj river in the valley below the snowy peaks in Kinnaur district of the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India. AP Photo
  • Wind pumps in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. The pumps prevent the region from being flooded, since a third of the Netherlands lies below sea level. AP Photo
    Wind pumps in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. The pumps prevent the region from being flooded, since a third of the Netherlands lies below sea level. AP Photo
  • Franklin Caceres checks a water pump used to collect water from a well in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. Caceres supplies water to more than 400 people. AP Photo
    Franklin Caceres checks a water pump used to collect water from a well in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. Caceres supplies water to more than 400 people. AP Photo
  • A man puts empty water containers back on a lorry belonging to a private distributor in Caracas, Venezuela. AFP
    A man puts empty water containers back on a lorry belonging to a private distributor in Caracas, Venezuela. AFP
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor

Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission 10-speed automatic

Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Other ways to buy used products in the UAE

UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.

Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.

Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.

For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.

Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.

At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

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Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

LIVING IN...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Coffee: black death or elixir of life?

It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?

Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.

Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver. 

The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.

But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.

Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.

It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.

So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.

Rory Reynolds

Updated: March 23, 2023, 3:41 PM