During the second day of the conference on the “Use of Treated Wastewater in the Agricultural Production in the Arab World: Current Status and Future Prospective,” three scientific sessions were organized. The central themes of these sessions were the use of treated wastewater in agricultural production, recharging groundwater, and effect of treated water on the environment, soil, and water, and public health. The conference is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, and organized by the Ministry of Environment and Water in collaboration with the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture.
The first seminar discussed the current and the future uses of the treated water resources, including its use in agricultural production in Abu Dhabi. Strategies to increase the lack of agricultural water were presented through case studies of grey water or sullage and the treated wastewater from Jordan and Egypt. The session also discussed successful researches and experiments to improve efficiency and effectiveness of using treated wastewater in agriculture in Morocco, use of treated wastewater in agricultural production in Tunisia, issue of feed production using treated wastewater in Jordan, and the impact of the use of treated wastewater in agricultural production in Syria and Egypt.
The second session, presented the experiments undertaken in the Sultanate of Oman in irrigating crop with treated wastewater and its storage underground, along with Egyptian experiment of using treated water in the forests to prevent desertification and the production of bioenergy crops. There was a presentation on the artificial recharge of the underground stored water with treated wastewater in Oud Suhail area in Nabel.
Finally, the last session of the second day of the conference discussed the environmental impacts of treated wastewater, including the impact of the heavy elements on environmental pollution and the risks over human health. A review of the use of treated wastewater triple in agriculture in an experiment in Kuwait was the highlight of the concluding session. It also discussed the summary of the studies done by Oman on the impact of treated wastewater on the soil and plant, impact of irrigation with treated wastewater in Jordan, irrigation of citrus trees with treated wastewater processors in Tunisia, and experiment to identify diseases and heavy elements by using wastewater in irrigating vegetables in the UAE.
The conference hosted a group of prominent speakers, experts and representatives of international organizations and local bodies from the sectors, including agriculture and treated water production at the local, Arab and international level. The conference has been characterized by the richness and diversity of its topics, which was reflected positively through the good exchange of experiences in food and water security fields.