Qatar is a small country with a harsh climate and limited water resources. The annual rainfall is barely 80 mm, which is not enough to sustain the high water demand of the growing population. Most of the country’s needs for water come from desalination plants, whereas agriculture over-exploits the natural water resources, resulting in serious environmental issues over the last few decades.

Qatar is moving towards sustainability by reducing the reliance on groundwater to stop the adverse impact and to restore the aquifers, as they used to be in the mid-twentieth century.
With this very little rainfall, how were the natural groundwater resources formed, where did the groundwater come from and how old is it? How did the old civilizations in the country sustain the harsh conditions and sustainably used the water resources? How was it like in Qatar and the region over the last 12,000 years? All these questions and more will be answered in this talk.

Dr. Husam Baalousha is a highly talented, enthusiastic, water resources and environment specialist, and editor, with more than 20 years of international experience. He earned his HDR Degree (accreditation to supervise research) from the University of Strasbourg, France in Hydrogeological Engineering and his PhD Degree in Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management from the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH), Germany. He earned his Master of Science degree in Hydrological Engineering from Delft, The Netherlands and his BSc degree in Civil Engineering from Birzeit University, Palestine. He has fulfilled a wide variety of roles in Academia, Industry, and Governmental Institutions. His experience includes integrated water resources management, environmental protection, aquifer storage and recovery, hydrological engineering, water aging, and water-food-energy-nexus. Dr. Baalousha has successfully completed projects in Germany, New Zealand, and the Middle East.