Members of the dates examination committee inspect the fresh dates at the Liwa Date Festival in Al Gharbia (Western Region) in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi - Environment agency discusses groundwater conservation with farmers at Liwa Date Festival.
Published: Fri 24 Jul 2015, 12:00 AM
Last updated: Fri 24 Jul 2015, 9:13 AM
The Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD) is holding forums and discussions with date palm farm owners on their groundwater usage at the Liwa Date Festival that will run until July 30 from 4-10pm daily.
The agency aims to recommend farm owners ways to make their irrigation systems more efficient, and environmentally sustainable.
Sixty two percent of the annual total demand for water in Abu Dhabi is for groundwater, which is being used mainly in agriculture, forestry and for landscape irrigation.
EAD had previously announced that it aims to reduce the use of groundwater by 80% in forestry by 2030, due to the ongoing deterioration of irrigation water - from both a quality and quantity perspectives - and which is one of the major challenges being faced by the emirate today.
Groundwater is precious
Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD, said: "Safeguarding Abu Dhabi's groundwater resources is one of our priority...to protect our water resources. Without farmers' support, groundwater depletion will lead to irreversible deterioration of groundwater quality, which will impact farmers' livelihood.
It is through initiatives like the Majlis at the Liwa Date Festival that we can...conserve this dwindling supply of this precious resource, and protect the farmers' means of living."
At the festival, EAD is showcasing the Khub Al Dhas forest as a study site that shows EAD' make its water usage more efficient by using recycled water, as opposed to depending solely on groundwater. Located near Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbiya, EAD opened an experimental demonstration site where it studied the water requirements of the Ghaf trees using technology that measures 'sap flow'.
These model studies, along with similar studies on palm trees at the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture, seek to establish new benchmarks for forestry and agriculture management in Abu Dhabi. Today, EAD manages 73 date palm farms in different locations across the emirate - 55 of which are in the Western region - and these contain 361,584 palm trees. Mansoor Khamees Al Tamimi, Groundwater Scientist at EAD said: "Palm irrigation consumes around one-third of the groundwater used for irrigation, with each palm tree needing 40 gallons of water per day depending on the season, soil type and tree size."
He said: "Liwa Date Festival will help us provide farmers with necessary technical support, offer innovative solutions and ideas. We also aim to promote planting native species instead of the non-native species that require a lot more water. Our presence there will also allow for people to report any violation or illegal activity being witnessed."
Al Tamimi added: "By being at the festival, we aim to promote sustainable use of groundwater among the farmers, by showcasing the best ways to make date forests more efficient in term of water."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
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