Within the activities of Expo 2020 Dubai

The National Water and Energy Center at the United Arab Emirates University has organized under the patronage of H. E. Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei - Minister of Energy and Infrastructure - and H. E. David Spears, Minister of Environment and Water of South Australia, the international conference "Water Resources Management and Sustainability:  Solutions in Dry Regions" from March 22 - 24, 2022 in cooperation with the Australian Pavilion and the South Australian Institute of Water Research at Expo 2020 Dubai, in the presence of H. E. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh - Cultural Adviser to H. H. the President of the UAE, Chancellor of UAE University, H. E. Mr. Badran Abdul Rahman Al Omar, President of King Saud University, H. E. Susan Claus - Minister Environment and Water in South Australia, and H. E. Ambassador Jimmy Isbester, Australia's Ambassador for Environment - and a large group of researchers, specialists, and professionals in the field of water from inside and outside the country.

E. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh confirmed in his opening remarks that the conference also aligns with the UAE s national principles for the future development of our country. It also addresses the United Nation s goal for the sustainable development of clean water and sanitation. Without sufficient quantities of high-quality water, we may not be able to achieve security of food supplies. Today we gather delegates from fifty-five countries, representing all five continents, to discuss a topic that is vital to the future sustainable development and prosperity of humankind. The very fact of the diversity and international reach of countries represented at this conference demonstrates that effective management of water resources is both a global concern and a mutual challenge.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Murad, Associate Provost for Research and President of the Conference, stressed that the conference is in line with the university s vision to support development and the priorities of the UAE, the UAE Agenda for Advanced Sciences 2031 and the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036. This conference represents an important platform to share and present new insights and introduce innovative technologies and unconventional practices that will improve the future of water management and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. The conference will also help discover appropriate solutions to 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 includes 6 interactive workshops presented by international experts. The topics include applications of modern water technologies and geographic information systems, remote sensing and artificial intelligence, and impacts of climate change and water sustainability. In addition to 132 keynote and oral presentations, 32 poster presentations will be given on water harvesting, groundwater recharge, desalination technologies, wastewater treatment and reuse, and climate change. In cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, a field visit will be organized to the Rafisa Dam in Khor Fakkan.

The themes of the conference also included social and economic water studies, advanced technologies in water resource management, climate change and water resource resilience, non-conventional water development and management (desalination, water recycling, and water reuse), sustainability of water resources (sustainable development goals, and relationship between water, food and energy, socio-economic growth, and environmental sustainability in dry areas), water resources and hydrological processes (rainwater harvesting, flash flood forecasting and management), as well as coastal and water resource management, water quality management, spatial technologies, GIS, remote sensing and its uses in water resources management.