Since late 1040’s, water resource management in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the occupied Palestinian territories and Western Sahara “former Spanish Sahara”) faced several negative impacts as a result of asymmetric power relations, volatile political situations, political instabilities with periodic/continuous conflicts and wars. Under such conditions water policies were mainly focused on national short-term interests for securing supply and services with little, or even no, consideration to entire water cycle, e.g. the large-scale and long-term trans-boundary nature of the water resources in regions with shared rivers and/or shared groundwater resources. Furthermore, periodic conflicts and wars hindered developing appropriate economic-political instruments for efficient water-use and flexibility to manage long-term and large-scale supply and demand. Also, Integrated Water Resource Management “IWRM” for trans-boundary waters were lacking coherent policies of equitable and reasonable use, i.e. by being based on such factors as social and economic needs, size of population, access to other water sources, etc. The added-value to national and regional programs from several international donors involved in MENA water issues (the World Bank, UNDP and USAID) was therefore rather limited.

In addition to trans-boundary political conflicts, national governance is/was hampered by a lack of coherent laws, seemingly incompatible political interests, weak environmental legislation for over-exploitation of groundwater and over-consumption of water for irrigation with associated pollution and in-economic use of water. Pesticides, herbicides, industrial pollution, agricultural and household waste resulted in serious impacts on water quality, in addition to saline intrusion of the aquifers near the seas.  

Click to access Paper12_MENA_Water_Overview_2007.pdf

Water in the MENA region is integrated into the wider economic policies of the countries of the region and therefore water issues have to be addressed to multi-sectorial audience to bring about a broad reform within the current political and economic climate.  Indeed, MENA is using more water than it receives each year and most of the countries in the MENA region cannot meet current water demands. The situation is likely to be worse and per capita water will fall by half already before 2050, with serious impacts for the region’s already stressed aquifers and natural hydrological systems.

In coming decades, economies and population structures will force enhanced demands for water supply and irrigation, in addition to new needs to address industrial and urban pollution. Future management of water resources will be further complicated as the major part of the region’s water flows across international borders and climate change will introduce complex shifts in rainfall patterns. If the MENA region will not be able to meet these combined challenges the socio-economic consequences could be enormous, e.g. erratic drinking water services, more expensive desalination for cities and there would be needs for emergency supplies during droughts. Unreliable water resources, depletion of aquifers, service outages will cause stress on expensive infrastructure, depress farmers’ incomes, intensify local/regional conflicts with short- and long-term effects on economic growth and poverty, social tensions within and between communities, and increasing pressure on public budgets.

Post 1960s water policies of securing supply and services require switch toward better water management with consideration to entire water cycle and not the separate components, also use of economic instruments for water efficiency and flexibility to manage variations supply and demand. Changes in planning should include integrating water quality and quantity and consider the entire water system, promotion of demand management, tariff reform for water supply, strengthening of government agencies and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations. Also, shift from low-value uses to higher-value needs. Equal involvement of all stakeholders in water management policies including stakeholders outside irrigation, water resource management, and water supply and sanitation, e.g. within agriculture, trade, energy, real estate, land, finance, and social protection.

Reforms for sustainable socio-economic water management should involve: political and technical policies; effective interactions with non-water decision makers; accountability of government agencies and water service to the public as well as transparency for good and bad performance.

Click to access Water_Scarcity_Full.pdf

Creation of a single electricity market in Europe has been moving in a positive direction. But, it is still a long way to go, particularly what regards the connection and integration of national electricity markets, the physical interconnections between Member States, and the promotion and facilitation of cross-border market-balancing. The same is true for the coordination of investment in generation, transmission and storage capacity. EU targets in areas such as climate change and energy security are additional challenges for achieving a single European electricity market. Renewable need to contribute to security of supply just as fossil fuel operators need to contribute to climate protection

In a single European energy market, the increasing penetration of renewables must be accommodated in a sustainable matter and this would require special considerations from the Member States. With increasing weight of renewables, the overall stability of the grid will certainly be ruined. The market is facing new challenges with the facilitation of self-consumption and peer-to-peer energy exchanges within distribution networks. Apart from technical and regulatory issues, the answers in every country are likely to differ because of the differences in energy mix and societal models. In this context, true pan-European market solutions can be favored over additional and scattered regulatory measures, as suggested below.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/04/moving-towards-the-european-super-grid?cmpid=WNL-Friday-May2-2014

The story of Iran’s nuclear ambitions to have nuclear power started already in the 1970’s upon recommendation from Ford’s administration of the US. The US, France, Germany and the UK though that Iran can be a good client for the nuclear technology and the UK started collaborating with the Shah’s of Iran on his development of nuclear power. However, the situation changed after the revolution in Iran with withdrawal of the west from further collaboration with Iran what concerns the development of nuclear power.

Under pressure from finite fossil fuel reserves and scrutiny from the West, Iran’s nuclear program has had a difficult road. Here is the story of Iranian nuclear energy told from the other side.

“Iran has tried its best to have a pragmatic approach, not an ambitious approach”, claims the country’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh. A climate of suspicion and hostility has historically smothered any meaningful discussion of Iran’s right to nuclear technologies. The West accuses Iran of creating a ‘confidence deficit’ by pursuing a clandestine programme of enrichment; Iran sense hypocrisy, and claim to be singled out.  Ultimately, all parties acknowledge that a system that enshrines the right of the powerful to bend the rules is unsustainable. “The whole of the non-proliferation regime has elements of double-standards built into it”, concedes David Hannay, a member of the House of Lords. But will this consensus signal a move beyond the rhetoric to purposeful negotiation? “Iran has an opportunity to become the good boy of the world.”

One central issue what concerns the globalization of high-tech industries, and other emerging sustainable technologies, is how would we achieve sustainable socio-economic development around the world that involve secure and safe use of clean energy and water resources. However, there are many important political challenges what regards raising public awareness, promotion of supporting education and research programs that can solve society and populations needs. In this context, stronger engagement of all sectors and stakeholders are required for the conservation and protection our natural resources.

Berlin, 13 April – A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change “IPCC” indicates that global emissions of greenhouse gases have accelerated despite reduction efforts. The report, also, shows that many pathways to substantial emission reductions are available. As, many other atmospheric pollutants and toxic compounds are expected, also, to be associated with the emissions of greenhouse gases, then enhanced degradation in world aquatic and ecosystems will be taking place in parallel. In addition, the sites where these emissions are taking place there would be additional local and regional problems as well to the workers, in particular “high occupational levels of pollution” and the public health of individuals “air quality” in general.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1404/S00127/many-pathways-to-substantial-emissions-reductions-available.htm

By 2030 South Africa will have 60 million people, i.e. more than double of today’s population, to feed. Today’s water and energy resources are already used up for living and providing food. The only solution is SUSTAINABLE planning and recognizing the way these three resources, i.e. food, energy and water, are INTER-CONNECTED.  We need sustainability as much as sustainability needs us.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGNxRZD4Uxs

Increasing energy demands and pressures on Conventional Light Oil “CLO” of the Eastern Hemisphere (85% of the global inventory) have shifted the focus to Unconventional Heavy Oil “UHO” and Conventional Tar Sands “CTS” deposits around the world. The major part of “UHO” is in the Western Hemisphere (69% of the inventory), mainly the USA, while the majot part of “CTS” is being found in Canada. We have to keep in mind that the world inventories of UHO” and “CTS” may, indeed, exceed the global inventories of “CLO”.

Unconventional oil sources and oil sands are created in the same way as conventional oil—that is, through the combination of organic material, heat, and pressure. The main difference between the two is their ability to move underground. Conventional oil migrates upward due to its buoyancy. This oil moves through pathways in the underground rock in its fluid state and becomes trapped between impermeable layers of rock. Unconventional oil and oil (tar) sands, meanwhile, is formed in sealed spaces of rock, or being mixed with sand, and is not able to move up; it therefore remains in the source rock/sand, trapped in pores or unconnected pores. Unconventional oil and oil or tar sands are therefore produced and extracted using techniques other than conventional method used in Conventional Oil industries. Governments across the globe are investing in unconventional oil sources due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil resources. 

Due to the different nature of accumulation and existence in underground formations and difficulties associated with production/extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands there are multiple of additional environmental threats and climatic impacts. Production and extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands consume much more water, have enhanced negative impacts on the environment in terms of produced waste, contamination and pollution especially what regards degradation of aquatic life, eco-systems and bio-diversity. Moreover, carbon dioxide emissions from the production and extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands are relatively higher, up to 20%. Indeed, the climatic and environmental (http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/unconventional-oil-implications-for-the-environment-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2/) impacts of unconventional oil and oil sands are not fully understood and consequence assessment analyses are fragmentary, incomplete and far from being representative especially what regards the large-scale and long-term impacts and threats.

http://www.greenparty.ca/sites/greenparty.ca/files/attachments/a_comprehensive_guide_to_the_alberta_oil_sands_-_may_2011_-_last_revised_march_2012.pdf

Our understanding of algae, their unique and rich diversity, is shifting more and more towards finding industrial applications for production of useful products, in particular, food (human food, fish food and animal food), energy and farmaceutical products. There are known methods and tools to extract oil and other valuable products from algae, also to change the genetic content and chemical composition of many algae.

Many and many organizations give lots of money for research for commercialization of algae. Research takes is typical path fuelled by society needs, human hopes for prosperity and fears from environmental threats. In this amazing journey of what we are right now and where we are heading to, there are several important facts to be known, e.g. benefits and threats. There are, also, key interests in understanding the potential of artificial photosynthesis as a new path, not yet fully understood, for production of energy.

Algae are “biochemical reactors” that can recycle carbon to produce organic compounds in different forms, which indeed is the origin of all the gas and oil reservoirs around the world. Multi-hundred-million dollar industries have invested in many products, e.g. sushi wrap, oils, dental impression, ice cream thickener, cosmetics, medical products, plastics… etc. They still invest more and more money for production of energy-rich food, biofuel from algae and use of wastewater to grow algae as well as for the extraction of other useful products like coloring agents and anti-oxidant, agro-culture business for production of food in the fish and shellfish industries.

Basic research is needed, and even imperative, to solve central bottleneck in algae processing technology ranging from cultivation, harvesting, extraction of desired products, processing and refining. Micro-algae are known to grow very fast and there is commercial potential in industrial microbiology where molecular biology in combination with aquaculture and marine farming can yield hybrid and novel technologies. Unlike industrial small-scale microbial technologies, e.g. cheese, beer, alcohol that are based on “closed systems” trying to cultivate algae on large-scale, i.e. in open systems, is a great challenge. Algae are now looked upon as the most sustainable known potential source of biofuel. The challenges are transferring the many different types of small-scale bioreactors to open systems for growing algae at large scale. Up-scaling of algae-based technology leads to emergent issues that are not fully controlled, e.g. competitor algae, predators and diseases (bacteria and viruses). Up-scaling to large-scale open systems, therefore, requires solving a wide-range of difficulties and threats including those arising from varying weather conditions, e.g temperature, and much work is still needed.

Earth – the blue planet: lots of water-lots of algae-lots of oxygen. The most important and oldest single cell plants on earth “The Algae” and the very reason of our existence. These single cells carry lots of secrets and many of them are still unknown to us though they played important roles in the evolution and development of life on earth. They have micro- and nano- devices with complex molecular structures and diversity of biochemical metabolic reactions, e.g. photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, production of amino acids and lipids. Algae with thousands and thousands of species can be very small or very large in size with different colors and can be useful or harmful. Algae remains, diatoms, can be preserved in sediments for millions of years. The most important is that algae are the origin of gas and oil and recently that  algae can be used for production and a source of biofuel!