Low availability of fresh water and steady growth in population across the world would make water dearer in less than a decade, warned an expert at a seminar organised jointly by the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) yesterday.
While making a presentation, Mahzaben Mannan of the Sustainable Development College of Science and Engineering at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University said one-third of the global population would find it extremely difficult to access fresh water by 2025, as there has been no significant rise in the availability of fresh water over the years.
The world population which was 6.93bn in 2010, now stands at 7.6bn and is expected to rise to 8.14bn in 2025. “However, there has been no perceivable increase in the availability of fresh water,” she said.
Except for Europe and North America, the availability of fresh water would be a major issue in the next decade, she said.
With examples, Mannan also said that the GDP from construction activity is perhaps the highest in Qatar compared to countries as the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia. While it is close to 15%, in Qatar, it is less than 5% in most other countries, she said. It shows how enormous is the use of water in Qatar, she added.