HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al- Sada has urged citizens and residents to co-operate in the rationalisation of water consumption.

Speaking on the occasion of Arab Water Day, which falls on March 3 each year, al-Sada said it was the common moral, national and religious responsibility of every citizen and resident to maintain the source of life and to ensure a decent livelihood for the present and future generations.

Al-Sada said that Qatar, under the wise leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has encouraged and supported the means to reduce the water consumption rates and the steps taken to provide, sustain and maintain water sources.

The Minister said that Qatar attaches great importance to raise awareness about rationalisation of water, the need to maintain the country’s water resources, which form a basis of its development and progress. He said the Arab per capita consumption of water is among the highest in the world.

He said that this year Qatar marks the Arab Water Day under the motto “We rationalise in water to achieve sustainable development” “as water is of utmost importance in our lives”.

The Minister revealed that Qatar is working according to a clear policy as part of its strategy for the management of natural resources, which constitutes a roadmap for achieving sustainability and preservation of the future generations’ rights.

Al Sada said that the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) seeks to strengthen the culture of rationalisation of water consumption through the national programme of energy conservation and efficiency which was launched in April 2012 under the patronage of HH the Emir.

In his speech on the occasion of the Arab Water Day, President of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation Engineer Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari pointed to the deficiencies in daily water consumption, a matter which leads to waste and exhausts this vital resource.

He stressed that the aim of the occasion is to stress the need to rationalise the use of drinking water in light of the increasing pressures faced by freshwater resources in the Arab world, which make it essential to adopt solutions that ensure the achievement of sustainable development.

Al-Kuwari added that water has a special value and significance in the Arab region as it faces many challenges, most notably accelerated depletion of groundwater and increase of its salinity and scarcity of rainfall and the steady increase in demand for water due to population growth and accelerated economic development, thus threatening the sustainability of the growth, development and even the continuation of life.