Sustainability is concept of making something last for a long time without compromising on other factors. Sustainable development is how we as a whole strive to grow in a sustainable manner. To do this we mainly focus on three pillars for human well being: economic, ecological/environmental and socio-political conditions. (Blue, 2015) Water is one of the main elements of sustainable development getting rid of water related problems is key for development. 

Water is a finite and irreplaceable resource that is fundamental to human well-being. It is only renewable if well managed. Water is also at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between the climate system, human society and the environment. (Harrington, 2014) If not managed effectively then two-thirds of the world?s population will be water-stressed by 2030. Even though water can pose significant challenge to sustainable development, if managed equitably and efficiently, it can play a key role and can cause swift development. (Roger, 2014)

When the millennium development goals were set in 2000 to achieve by 2015, no water related goal was set. It wasn?t until 2012 at the Rio+20 conference where the United Nations decided to set a goal regarding water scarcity after seeing the panic-stricken situation of various water-stressed countries. Therefore in 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals were created. These were a set of more focused goals and had a goal directly linking to the sustainable management of water to prevent it from running out in the future. The SDG goal no. 6 links to water related issues. 

The United Arab Emirates is among the top water-scarce countries in the world. However the country has one of the world?s highest per capita water consumption of 550 litres per day. The country is experiencing a rapid increase in population which has in turn resulted in huge demand for water. The main reason why UAE is greatly affected by water scarcity is because of where it is placed on the map. Due to geographical location and population growth, the region faces growing demand for a shrinking water supply. Throughout the region the rainy season is very short and the rainfall is also minimal and irregular. The World Bank reports that this area (including North Africa) has 5% of the world?s population, but only 1% of the world?s water. Droughts have been occurring more frequently and lasting longer, warning the region of a bleaker future.

Like other Arabian Gulf states, the UAE has long faced water scarcity, and this problem intensifies as growth and development continue. Secondly, Climate change is not the only global scale process that is affecting the supply, quality, and distribution of water. Water scarcity also affects a country financially. If there is scarcity of drinking water, it would lead to increase in cost of living which would have a direct impact on the economy.

The private sector accounts for almost 25% of the total consumption in the country as 550 litres is the average amount of water a UAE resident uses per day. According to a survey carried out, residents and citizens are not aware of the water crisis the country is going through. Questions such as ?Are you aware of water wastage during everyday activities like washing hands, brushing, taking a shower? were asked, to which 52% of people replied saying ?No?. Even though 48% of people are aware of the issue the country is facing, they are not doing anything to reduce the issue at hand as when the question, ?Do you personally think you waste water and could make some improvements?, 56% said ?yes?, 40% said ?no? and 4% said ?I don?t know how to?. These results showed us that people need are not only not doing anything to make the situation any better but are also not even aware of the problem at hand. Questions like ?Do you ever see water wastage in the UAE? (through inefficient sprinklers, etc) were also asked, to which most people replied to by saying ?usually? or ?sometimes?. This gives us the impression that the government also poses stress on the minimal water levels as they do not look into these matters in depth or make changes to the situation.

As population pressures in the region increase, the demand for water resources rises. There are many challenges of meeting this demand given scarce water resources. The country-based strategies to deal with water shortages depend on local conditions, the extent of water scarcity and available financial resources. (Ahmad, 2017). Despite facing these issues UAE is taking all measures to tackle the water scarcity problem in the country in the coming years.

One of the methods the country uses to provide clean, useable water is cloud seeding. This is the process of chemically inducing clouds to produce precipitation usually in the form of rain. This method usually improves the water condition in the agriculture sector. Offering the ability to reduce the impact of droughts by and bring stimulating rain is very powerful. If farmers were able to grow  and sell more crops, then UAE?s overall economy would improve greatly. On the other hand, since it involves the use of silver iodide aerosols the precipitation produced may contain toxic ions and substances that can be detrimental to plant life and soil health. Secondly, though cloud seeding is believed to regulate the weather, some people fear that it might ultimately change climatic patterns making it unreliable (Birling, 2012).

The process whereby water is brought into a region which would not naturally receive water is called importation. This can be a huge advantage as countries who do not have the facilities to produce their own water, importation can effectively solve the problem. Water is usually imported in plastic container and long exposure to heat or other vagaries of nature may affect water quality. The water being imported is also susceptible to microbial contamination during transport. This reduces the overall quality of water and defeats the whole purpose of importing water.  

Another one of the methods they use is desalination. With minimal rainfall, groundwater gradually running out and the population rapidly increasing, desalination remains the only feasible option in the region. Desalination is simple the process of removing salt from seawater. The UAE relies on desalination as a primary source of potable water. In fact, the country is the second largest producer following KSA. Previously the traditional desalination methods that were carried out  were not very sustainable for long term water security as they contributed to a third of UAE?s greenhouse gas emissions. Today, however, the situation is shifting as the UAE steers away from this challenge towards a more sustainable direction.  Turning to a more sustainable method of clean water production can minimise long-term costs and reduce carbon emissions. The process is highly understood, the technology used is reliable and it allows high-quality water which means that using such a method will only provide benefits. However, some cons to this method would be that desalination plants are expensive to build. The initial costs are pretty high and the energy required to run these plants is also very high and not worth the return, 2 kilowatt hours of energy in order to produce 1 cubic meter of fresh water. Moving away from the political and economic impacts and looking at the social aspects, desalination plants are placed remotely and away from the city but this can still affect some residents living in the area as these plants are very noisy and cause vibrations to occur as well causing disturbance to people living in the area.

Evaluating the positive and negative impacts of these methods, desalinations turns out to be the most effective in the country as using the new desalination plant projects can provide clean drinking water most efficiently which will also be cost-effective in the long run. The UAE government is not leaving any stone unturned to reverse the effect of water scarcity in the region. Measures being taken by the government is difficult but not unstoppable to make the country water secured.