DUBAI // The country's water is to fall under the control of the Federal Government. A law transferring the management of the resource from each emirate is under legal review, the Ministry of Environment and Water said yesterday. The move is aimed at improving efficiency and planning, which have often been lacking under splintered control.
Dr Rashid bin Fahad, the Minister of Environment and Water, could not say when the law would be enacted, nor what it contained. However, he confirmed it would put his ministry in charge of water management. "The law will lay out the legal mechanism for management and use of water resources across the whole country and for all resources of water," said Dr bin Fahad. Even within emirates, the responsibility for managing water resources is not clear cut.
Different authorities can have a say in the process, and often contradict one another. Apart from Abu Dhabi, which has an independent authority to regulate desalination, water and electricity authorities also provide the service, potentially leading to conflict. "This is why we need this law," said Dr bin Fahad. "Water is a resource belonging to the whole country. "We are emphasising the need for water security. It is not only about the availability of [water] supply, there are also environmental issues."
The law was being reviewed by a committee that included Ministry of Justice officials and representatives from each of the seven emirates, said Dr Mohammed Mustafa al Mulla, the Deputy Minister of Water and Soil Affairs. After the review, the draft must be approved by the Cabinet and the FNC before being passed by the President's Office. "We are still working on it," said Dr al Mulla. "It is a long journey."
The UAE is one of the poorest countries in terms of the availability of fresh water, but has one of the highest rates of consumption per person. While the new regulation was expected to help improve that record, the law could run into opposition from some emirates, said Dr Shawki Barghouti, the director general of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai. "The question becomes how to get all emirates to subscribe to it," he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting at the ministry to celebrate Arab Water Day, Dr Barghouti said that the issue was a sensitive one that would require "certain careful political negotiation". The UAE relies on desalination for 98 per cent of its water needs. The country's 30 plants have a combined capacity of 1.3 billion cubic metres per year. The process is heavily subsidised by the Government and requires large amounts of energy, taking its toll on the environment.
Besides an enlarged carbon footprint, the plants have a negative impact on the marine environment through thermal and chemical pollution, according to environmentalists. Dr Barghouti said decision makers should also look at the reduced flow of fresh water into the Arabian Gulf due to the building of dams along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Although the decision to build the dams is outside of the remit of Gulf governments - with Turkey, Iran and Syria behind the projects - they were having a large impact on the Gulf, he said.
"The reduction of sweet water has an impact on marine life, water quality and the circular movement of water in the Gulf," said Dr Barghouti. It required "careful monitoring of water quality and strong co-operation among the Gulf countries" as well as "improvements in desalination regulation", said Dr Barghouti. Finding solutions to the issue "will not be that easy", he added. @Email:vtodorova@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
GOODBYE%20JULIA
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Company%20Profile
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ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Company%20profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
HWJN
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