Mansour bin Zayed: Water scarcity is an urgent security priority

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa appreciated all the efforts by the scientific community to find science-based solutions for the problem of water scarcity, which is a national security issue and an urgent domestic and international priority, he added.

Sheikh Mansour said this in his remarks delivered on his behalf by Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director of the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) and President of the Asian Meteorological Union (Regional Association II) at the opening of the 5th International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF 2021).

Sheikh Mansour said, "Water security has attracted significant interest from governments worldwide as over 40 percent of the world’s population faces severe water shortages. According to the United Nations reports, this percentage is likely to rise to 50 percent by 2030. This situation requires concerted national, regional and international action to promote research and development and attract investment in new technologies as well as establishing effective partnerships."

"As part of its Water Security Strategy 2036, the UAE seeks to ensure sustainable and uninterrupted access to water during normal and extreme emergency conditions alike. To increase precipitation and enhance fresh water supplies in the country, we launched the pioneering UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science in 2015, yielding promising results, broadly applicable to many arid and semi-arid regions facing scarcity of water resources across the globe," he further noted.

During the opening of the event, the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP) announced the launch of its fourth cycle, and submissions are open to innovative project proposals from different parts of the world. The programme offers a grant of up to US$1.5 million, distributed over three years with a maximum annual amount of $550,000 for each winning research proposal in the rain enhancement field.

Dr Abdulla Al Mandous said, "IREF has been convened this year in a virtual format due to the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially to water security, as the demand for water has witnessed a steady increase since the pandemic broke out. This has exacerbated the situation as nearly half of the world's population is facing an acute shortage of fresh potable water.

He added, "The launch of the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science in 2015 under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the management and supervision of NCM, articulates the country’s sustained efforts to bolster water security locally, regionally and globally."

In her address, Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAEREP, said, "In continuation of the programme’s tireless efforts to support the advancement of rain enhancement research, we have launched its fourth cycle and started receiving innovative project proposals from leading scientists and research institutions from across the globe."

Al Mazroui also revealed that the IREF has now been turned into a biennial event and its sixth edition will be held in January 2023.

Interested academic institutions, research centres and other relevant organisations can submit their pre-proposals from 24th January to 18th March, 2021, via the link
https://apply.uaerep.ae covering the following research field: Weather Modelling and Forecasting Using Artificial Intelligence and Ensemble Modelling.

The proposal must evaluate rain enhancement efficiency through the utilisation of cloud chamber and randomised inputs in statistical methods, innovations in rain enhancement systems through the integration of new measurement and numerical tools, and leveraging innovative rain enhancement models, among others.