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GENEVA, Jan 15 (KUNA) -- Director of the the Global Institute for Water
Environment Health (GIWEH) Nidal Salim said that there is a real problem in
the Middle East because of water shortage.
He added that 85 percent of water consumed by Israel comes from Palestinian
water sources.
The Middle East is the most stressed region in the world in terms of water
resources, he said.
Talking to a select group of reporters, Salim noted that water should be
the responsibility of the ministries of foreign affairs, economy and
agriculture as well as the responsibility of prime ministers and presidents
because of the importance of water management.
He praised Egypt for its efforts to undertake agricultural and other
cooperation projects with the Nile basin countries which, he said, would lead
to better cooperation.
Salim also praised Syria, Turkey and Iraq for their establishment of a
water academy institution for water cooperation between the three countries.
A United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) expert Moustapha Kamel Gueye,
who will take part in the Tuesday next conference, said that the world looses
annually in biodiversity more than USD 10 billion and it is expected that by
2030 the losses will climb up to more than USD 50 billion.
Salim said that his institute will hold a one-day conference next Tuesday
on Green Growth and Water: Learning and Leading.
Among the experts participating in the conference is a Saudi expert on
water, Professor Walid Abdel Rahman at the King Fahd Universitys Department
for Water Resources Management.
GIWEH is a Geneva based institute established in March 2007 under the
initiative of Swiss, European and Middle Eastern scientists who graduated from
several Swiss Universities and their professors.
The work of GIWEH involves different scientific researches in water,
environment and health. and promoting different multidisciplinary points of
view. (end).
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KUNA 151030 Jan 10NNNN