Water in the Middle East 2008
Exploring Water Patterns in the Middle East held two panels at the 12th annual Forum 2000 Conference in October 2008. The panels focused on the relationship between water and religion and the role of private investments in mega water projects.
Water and Religion: What is the Spiritual Value of Water?
Water is one of the most important natural resources. Moreover it is arguably the most important one leaving behind so called “strategic” resources like oil and natural gas. The question “what is the value of water?” is recently being answered from the economic, socio-economic or security perspective. But can we, in order to address all the issues concerning water nowadays in its complex picture, leave behind or even ignore spiritual value of the water? Certainly not, especially when it comes to region of such spiritual significance as Middle East without any doubt is.
Water and Investments: Private Investments and Security of Water Supplies
With the increasing interest of business in investing in emerging or developing markets, the need to secure a reliable supply of water increases as well. The private sector faces severe risks, mainly in the field of reliability and availability of water supplies, water quality (some industries, like food processing, require high quality freshwater), losses in the supply chain and failure to meet local basic water needs. Each of these risks being ignored would cause the loss of invested resources. Local governments could, for example, temporarily or even permanently cut off water supplies for industry facilities in order to meet basic water needs (companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. already experienced such measures in India). In short, private investors have to – more than at any time in the past – pay attention to the security of water supplies. This is also enforced with increasing public interest when it comes to water projects, the security of basic water needs and environmental risks.
