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In his opening speech, H.E Dr. Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad said that this event is being held in Abu Dhabi because of the country’s belief in the effective role of technology in the management of water resources.

He added “Since ancient times, our ancestors have known how to preserve their limited resources, despite the dry and harsh nature of the desert. However, with changing patterns of living and urban, agricultural and industrial growth, the importance of water has increased and it became the core of life and development. This has increased the pressure on the scarce water resources.”

The Minister said “The UAE Government has recognized the importance of addressing these challenges to achieve overall sustainable development. The Government has placed environmental protection as a priority and has included it in its vision, in order to ensure a better life for future generations. Moreover, our federal strategy stresses the importance of sustainability.”

H.E Dr. Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad added “This symposium is in sync with our completion of a comprehensive strategic plan to preserve water resources and promote water security in the UAE. This country is committed to improving the management of natural water resources and to supporting the strategic water reserves. We have also identified protected underground water reservoirs as a strategic inventory to be used in case of emergency, raising the efficiency of rain water accumulated behind the dams to increase the rates of groundwater, and finally using surplus energy for water desalination to recharge the groundwater using artificial injection technology to support the strategic reserve of fresh water.”

He added “the seriousness of the global water problem has pushed governments and international organizations to develop programmes and to enact laws to help solve the problem.”

“Perhaps the most striking feature of these programmes is the inability of the traditional sources to meet the demand for water in many parts of the world, which led to the development of modern techniques to exploit salt water in the seas and oceans. Thus, in recent years we have witnessed faster and higher rates in the establishment of desalination stations and the related development of their techniques. However, water security and the creation of strategic stocks of water in case of emergency is a priority for most countries, particularly those countries that do not have sufficient quantities of rainfall to recharge aquifers and surface sources of freshwater,” he added.

He said “these countries can exploit desalinated water to form strategic stocks through the injection of extra quantities of water into underground reservoirs. The underground storage has proved technically efficient in comparison with the health, economic and environmental implications of surface storage.”

“Artificial injection technology contributes by leaving undisturbed large tracts of land and reduces the cost of storage, operation and maintenance. It also helps in reducing pollution and reducing the need for water treatment compared to other alternatives that need treatment and renewal as a result of stagnation of stored water. This is in addition to the temporal and spatial flexibility of underground storage, as well as reducing wasted water or leakage or evaporation of surface reservoirs,” H.E Dr. Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad said.

“Abu Dhabi is hosting this important symposium after we have implemented pilot projects in underground storage for more than eight years. Therefore, I hope this symposium can contribute to the evaluation of this experiment, and develop and export successes to neighboring countries,” added H.E Dr. Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad.

Mohamed Awad, Chairman of Schlumberger Middle East & Asia, also delivered a speech at the opening session in addition to the keynote speech presented by Dr. Gary L. Amy, Director of the Water Desalination Research Center and Professor of Environmental Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The session’s closing remarks were presented by Mr. Rolf Herrmann, Chairperson of the ISMAR7 Steering Committee, Schlumberger Water Services, Abu Dhabi.

A film entitled "Water Resources of Abu Dhabi Emirate" was screened during the opening session. Moreover, participants were able to tour an exhibition featuring many national and international exhibitors covering the latest developments in aquifer storage and recovery.

On Wednesday October 13, the participants will visit Liwa, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate to learn more about EAD’s Strategic Water Reserve Project. This project aims to increase the strategic reserves of fresh water in the Emirate to be used as a strategic resource in times of emergency.