Water and Food Security PDF

Running head: WATER AND FOOD SECURITY
WATER AND FOOD SECURITY- TRANSCRIPT

WATER AND FOOD SECURITY1
Slide 1: Topic Name and Presenter’s Name
Slide 2: Introduction
As we all know that water is one of the priceless and precious natural resources on Earth. It is
considered as life for the people and we require it for conducting all the activities in our life.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Right of 1948, the right to adequate food is
conferred to each people living in the Earth, however; it is evident that there is a disparity in
the distribution of food especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries in the
world (Hameed et al.). The main reason because of which, such unequal distribution can be
seen in the ever-increasing population in the world. As per the stated definition, Food
Security is a phenomenon that exists when the people have access to social, physical and
economic resources thus, offering safe, nutritious and adequate food for meeting the dietary
content of daily life in order to lead a normal and productive life (Un.org). The number of
undernourished or malnourished people are increasing at a rapid rate indicating the issue of
food scarcity in the world irrespective of its development stage.
Slide 3:
The research question formulated in this assignment is: Are water and food security
important to UAE. Thus, the aim of the assignment is to highlight the issue of water and food
security faced by the country and the importance of the aspect within the country. As we are
all aware, of that, UAE is one of the developed and food secured countries in the world.
However, it can be found that it is facing the challenge of meeting the demand for water and
food due to various reasons. Thus, the evaluation of those reasons and approach used for
mitigating the issue will be addressed. Moreover, a comparison will be drawn with peers of
the UAE in terms of water and food security.
Slide 4:

WATER AND FOOD SECURITY2
In this slide, I will discuss the factors leading to water and food security in the UAE and the
importance of the issue. The food and water security are made national policy in UAE
because of two significant factors; one is the limitation in arable land that restrict the
production of crops and limited water resources. According to report, UAE is one of the food
secured countries in the world because it has the economic stability of importing the majority
of its food supplies from national and international markets (Mbrsg.ae). It was found that in
2016, UAE had established a 20 storage tower with the help of AL-Dahra Holding Company
that covers an area of 45000 square meters in the Port of Fujairah to meet its water supply
(Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl). The issue of water and food scarcity is a long-term challenge
that affects the supply chain and production capability of the country.
Slide 5:
This is a continuation of the previous slide, which will state the statistical data related to the
issue in UAE. Extensive funding and investments are made by the country to address the
issue of food scarcity that supported in the availability and accessibility of food to the general
public. From the figure, it can be found that the UAE is currently facing a plethora of issues
that had disrupted the food security level (Ajaj, Shahin and Salem). The two major reasons
that contribute to such kind of disruption is the growing population of the country and the
drastic change in climatic condition. The summers are becoming hot and the scorching heat
has been responsible for destroying the crops. The food consumption rate is elevating at a rate
of 4% on an annual basis. The rise in population is expected to be 11 million by 2030 that
will exert tremendous pressure on the available food and water resources. The water
challenges are rising more due to lack of sufficient amount of groundwater and the high cost
involved in establishing a water production facility.
Slide 6:

WATER AND FOOD SECURITY3
As stated in the previous slide that the food supply of the UAE depends on importation. The
limited supply in the food and water resources in the country have made it a public health
concern. As per the study of Fiaz, Noor and Aldosri, there is 80-90% of food imported and
thus, it is considered as the 4th country with respect to food affordability. However, there is a
serious restriction on the importation of food. Due to religious factors, 80% of the imports are
banned from entering the country because of the high percentage of pesticide residues present
in the products. Other issues in this particular aspect is a problem related to transportation and
the increase in tax by the government that had suddenly affected the supply of food.
Slide 7:
Due to the economic stability of the UAE, it can be observed that there is a high level of food
being wasted which ultimately lead to an increase in the price of food items. As we can
observe from the present context that the value of imported food has increased drastically. In
2011, the value of food was US$3 billion that will increase to US$ 8.4 billion in 2020 (Fiaz,
Noor and Aldosri). Therefore, it can be stated that the import of food is variable in nature
and it is highly dependent on the inconsistent and changing revenue of fossil fuel (Taha et
al.).
Slide 8:
In this slide, we will talk about the challenges faced by UAE related to this topic. The
problems related to food security is more critical in the UAE than other food secured
countries in the world. The reason for this is the restricted land usage and climatic factors.
The land available in the country are either used for meeting the housing demands of people
and the leftover land is not irrigable. The country is covered with the desert in most of the
areas; thus, left it unfertile in nature. The change in climatic condition is stated to be a grave
issue as with the continuous rise in temperature, the impact of global warming is prevalent in