Scarcity of Fresh Water Supply in the UAE - Essay Example

Scarcity of Fresh Water Supply in the UAE

Water is the most important substance on earth which has many uses including drinking and maintain good hygienic levels. Water takes all forms of matter that are solid, liquid and gas. Solid water is in the form of ice and it creates the ice mostly found in the north and south poles. Liquid water is found in seas, lakes and rivers while water in vapour form is found in the air as droplets. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm al Quwain are the states which combine to form the United Arab Emirates.

A scarce resource comes up when human wants becomes more than what the supply can handle. The scarcity of water is the lack of or inadequate water or no way through for safe water supply. This is in the case of the major kingdoms in the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates has a capital city called Abu Dhabi which has the largest population. The climate in the city is very high with rainfall being dependable only in the North Eastern regions. It has experienced a period of wealth and oil boom whereby every citizen became enriched due to the situation. Before the discovery of ground water, saline water was the only source of fresh water which was available where people depended on for living. Saline water was among the factors which assisted in the growth of Abu Dhabi. Ground water and Desalinated Seawater are the types of water available in the capital city.

The government came up with a plan to allocate the budget for water that will take care of the desalinated water, water that is recycled and water from the ground. Al Mubarak the secretary agency of the environmental agency, talked about replacing the desalinated water with recycled water.

The government will also work on reducing the demand as the long term solution. Desalinated sea water undergoes a series of processes so that the minerals can be separated from the saline water. It undergoes preheating combined with a process of reverse osmosis whereby water undergoes filtration and treatment done to remove and prevent the growth of bacteria and make it fit for human consumption (Ghaffour, Missimer & Amy 2013). Salt which can also be referred to as concentrated brine is transported to the Gulf of the United Arab Emirates. There are eight processing plants that perform the function of desalination. The plants doing the process of making the desalinated water to saline are first cleaned to reduce the heat up smelters which smelt the Aluminum then process water for drinking. Ground water is used for agricultural purposes like irrigation. Abu Dhabi is well known for the growth of date palms whereby the groundwater is used to irrigate the palms.

The UAE is among the top countries suffering from the water shortage due to wastage. Due to the high population and the desert conditions, the population uses like 550ml per day contrary to the 250ml per day (Khawaji, Kutubkhanah & Wie 2008). Citizens use a lot of water during irrigation whereby a higher percentage of the water vaporizes before the plants uses it. The government has come up with solutions like improved ways of irrigation including drip irrigation and installation of pipes in the ground before planting. Drip irrigation involves digging in perforated tubes to the ground and feeding water to the plants through the roots. It helps the plants to acquire water directly reducing the amount of water used as compared to the amount of water used on spray irrigation. The other method which saves on irrigation includes excavating the planting land and digging in pipes and covering them with soil and dirt. The pipes placed strategically so that water can flow directly to the ground reducing the amount of water used during irrigation (Mohan, Kumar & Martin 2016).

Other minor steps to be taken include planting plants which are favoured by salty conditions and drought-resistant crops, watering plants during cooler times of the day and timing the seasonal rains to water their crops. If the supply of fresh water remains constant and the number of population increases, there will be a change in the equilibrium price and quantity. Following the rules of demand and supply, if population goes up, the demand for water will increase (Charkaoui, Amin, Amine & AlEnaizi 2014).

An increase in demand when the supply curve is constant will shift the demand curve to the right, S1 as shown below. The increase in demand may be due to increase in plants that require water or the population of the people. The price rates will increase due to an increase in the quantity demanded which is not supported by the supply of the water that has remained constant. The price will now shift from the equilibrium price of P0 to P1

PriceS0

P1

Po

D1

D0

Q0Q1 Quantity

As shown in the figure above, the increase in demand with a constant supply will increase the price of water. However, the government must come through for such necessity to go down in terms of price. If the prices increase from the equilibrium level, the government will implement policies which will assist the price to return to the equilibrium. There will be need of a legal price that is maximum so that water will have a price that will not go above the price ceiling that the government has set. This will reduce the long lines that consumers will make in order to get the water.

The government can take actions to assist the economy to remain at equilibrium level where no one suffers from water shortage. The government can initiate agriculture education whereby the farmers are taught how to grow crops in arid areas. The kind of crops to grow to avoid due to water shortage. The education received can assist them to come up with different ways of irrigating crops with ways which reduce water wastage. Provision of loans which favour the credit conditions which are friendly environmental laws and standards is another step which the government should take. Preferential loans are the most preferred type of loans to be made available to the citizens who practice agriculture as their way of living. The government should initiate the installation of more environmental friendly irrigation methods which favour water saving. The implementation of drip irrigation has helped to reduce water shortage significantly as people have learnt ways of decreasing water scarcity.

EMIRATE

Mainland area, excluding islands

Area in Km2

Farms in 2003

percentage

Abu Dhabi

67340

86.7

22985

218590

Dubai

3885

5.0

1326

6176

Sharjah

2590

3.3

4392

13275

Ras Al Khaimah

1683.5

2.2

4465

13571

Fujairah

1165.5

1.5

4346

5324

Umm Al Qaiwain

777

1.0

343

1693

Ajman

259

0.3

691

2104

Total

77 700

100.0

38 548

260 732

The table above shows the area within the UAE on farming. The government can also initiate a tariff based on the water meter so as to regulate the amount of water every individual uses (Shepherd 2013). Every person should be responsible for the amount of water they use. The government should introduce education on ways of conserving water and the supply of drinking water which is fit for human consumption.

It will be a short run production function because, as more units of a factor that are variables, all other factors are held constant, so the aggregate output will increase, and then later it will increase at a diminish rate. As shown below.

Depending on data collected from the United Arab Emirates, the economy is at the short run production process. The short run production process characterized by the availability of fixed factors of production and the variables that cause a change in production. The factors of production include land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship.

The short run production process is based on the increase or decrease of the variable costs. Success comes about as the proper management of short run costs is overseen which may lead the economy into long-run goals. In the process of production, decisions like the addition of value in the service or good provided are made. Production of high-quality products is also a decision made by the company whereby they should give to the society a product or service that is fit for human consumption. Till date, the United Arab Emirates is still experiencing water shortage. As a result, it has led to the increased number of people getting sick as they are not able to maintain good hygiene because of sanitation (Audah, Ghaddar & Ghali 2011).

What worries most citizens and other countries assisting the United Arab Emirates is that people still waste water despite the reduction in fresh water supply. A breakdown of one plant which purifies desalinated water is a shortcoming which the country may face. It may also be affected by the policies the foreign governments have introduced.

Through a system of government policies and economic assistance from developed countries, the United Arab Emirates is slowly showing significant changes in the supply of fresh water. Considering Abu Dhabi is oil and desert city, the production of saline water should be considered using solar energy which is economical as it does not pollute the environment in any way. Use of Solar Energy makes it cheaper as one does not have to keep up with the modern machines regarding the maintenance and oiling.