(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
By Mehdi Al-Nimr
ROME, March 22 (KUNA) -- As the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) marks the World Water Day on Wednesday, Kuwait envoy to the organization Youssef Al-Jehil highlighted his country's pioneering experiment in using treated wastewater in agriculture.
The theme of this year's World Water Day is "Wastewater: the Untapped Resource." Addressing the FAO ceremony on this occasion, Eng. Al-Jehil said the State of Kuwait made remarkable efforts to overcome the problem of water scarcity and ensure improved food security and nutrition.
Kuwait, located in a mainly arid region, tapped into the alternatives to freshwater provided by the latest technologies regarding treating wastewater and desalination of seawater, he said.
Kuwait's strategy in this regard is based on maximizing benefit from the available freshwater resources and using them in a sustainable way, on one hand, and using treated wastewater in filling the gap in meeting the needs of economic development, on the other.
The second section of this long-term strategy takes into account the environmental factors, such as the climate change, and focuses on rationalization of use of water and promotion of the farmers' awareness about economic irrigation systems, he went on.
Eng. Al-Jehil reviewed the data and photos of Sheikh Zayed information center relevant to the four-stage treatment process.
On her part, FAO's Deputy-Director General Maria Helena Semedo said: "We need to use water in agriculture in a more efficient, productive, equitable and environmentally friendly way where quality is not compromised." "We should maximize the potential of wastewater as a valuable and sustainable resource," she added.
Meanwhile, President of Fiji Jioji Konousi Konrote said: "There is an urgent need for greater investment and research into the management of wastewater to reduce the life-threatening impacts that wastewater pollution has on our environment. "With enough effort there is potential to turn wastewater into a valuable resource. "The challenges in getting this done vary by country, but many challenges are shared and we need close cooperation between nations to push action on this issue," he added. "The government of Fiji is to assume the presidency of the next Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Speaking to KUNA following the ceremony, Eng. Al-Jehil took pride in the FAO selection of Kuwait's experiment as a model example for the celebration of the World Water Day this year.
"The delegates of the FAO member states attached great importance to Kuwait's successful efforts in treatment of sewage water over the last decades," he added. (end) mn.gb
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