Water and Food Security in the Arabian Gulf / [edited by] Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research.

A collection of papers presented to the symposium under the title"Water and Food Security in the Arabian Gulf" held at the Center on March 26-27, 2012 in Abu Dhabi.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-374) and index.

Foreword / Jamal S. Al-Suwaidi -- Introduction: Regional Water and Food Security -- Enhancing Water and Food Security in the Arabian Gulf / Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad -- World Energy Demands and GCC Producers Water, Food and Agricultural Challenges in the GCC / Abdu Gasem Al-Assiri -- WATER SECURITY IN A CHANGING WORLD -- Water Security: Supplies, Resources and Uncertainty / Peter Rogers -- Challenges Facing the Management of Water Resources / Seetharam Kallidaikurichi and Mingxuan Fan -- WATER SECURITY IN THE ARABIAN GULF REGION -- The Geopolitics of Water Security / Hussein A. Amery -- Water Security in the GCC Countries / Waleed K. Zubari -- WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE ARABIAN GULF REGION -- National and Regional Water Security Policies in the Gulf States Mohammed S. Tayie -- Future Water Supply and Demand in Gulf States / Nadim Farajalla -- REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL FOOD SECURITY -- Challenges Facing Global Food Supplies / Mohamed Ait Kadi -- Food Security Strategies in the Arabian Gulf Region / Nadim Khouri, et al -- WATER AND FOOD SECURITY IN THE UAE -- Water Security in the UAE: Challenges and Opportunities / Mohammed Dawoud -- Food Security in the United Arab Emirates Ekhart Woertz.

This book comprises a valuable collection of the papers presented at the Symposium. The growing populations and economies have led to an increase in water demand around the globe. However, there are large variations in the amounts of water available to nations and regions, and growing concern surrounding the uncertainty associated with these supplies, due in large part to natural and human impacts on the water cycle. The need for alternative sources of fresh water has also been aggravated by the large influx of guest workers and significant improvements in the quality of life among Gulf populations. Therefore supplies are augmented by alternative sources{u2014}mainly desalinization, which meets most of the needs of these countries. However, this comes at a great financial cost as it is an extremely energy intensive process and has associated security risks, but many still see desalination as the only viable means of ensuring water supply in the region. Global food security also faces an uncertain future. The Gulf states suffer from a substantial food gap, and all the countries of the region are net food importers. The increase in the region{u2019}s population, rising income levels, and harsh weather conditions that prevent the increase of local food production, have resulted in a vast increase in the region{u2019}s food imports.