The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi Communication II (COMM151) Water Saviors Source Evaluation Spring 2013

Name: Mustafa Essam Eldin Ahmed ID: 920015295 Recipient: Ms. Mary Hatakka. Date: 25th February 2013

Source overview

The purpose of this source review is to gather background information regarding our main topic of investigation which is saving water in Abu Dhabi. This source overview will upturn our understanding of the main ideas and concepts concerning our topic. This source overview will also assist the team in writing a background review in the proposal and final report. [1] talks about the pricing policies and the corresponding effect on the consumption of water in Abu-Dhabi city in the UAE. The main source of water in Abu Dhabi city is desalinated water from the Arabian Gulf. This method is more expensive than other conventional methods. [1] states that in spite of all the awareness that the citizens have regarding water conservation, the average consumption rate per capita among Abu Dhabi is one of the highest across the globe. This implies that the worst combinations occur in Abu-Dhabi; high consumption rate and high production cost. Article [1] objective is to evaluate the effect of introducing a new pricing policy and compares it to the old pricing mechanism. The researchers randomly select 90 households with a range of economic levels and analyze their consumption rate before and after the new pricing policy. The article [1] states that a decrease of about 29% was noticed after the increase in price. However, there is still an issue as the price of water charged is only 29% of the total cost to produce and supply water to consumer taps. This article possess a helpful methodology that can be altered and used in our research, published in 2001, in other words, it is quite recent that it can be used as a reference in our research.

Article [2] is dedicated to analyzing the impact of pricing reforms on cost recovery and farmers revenues and draw lessons from Mediterranean experiences. First of all, [2] reviewed water policies and pricing schemes in cities such as Spain, Turkey, Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Moving on, the researchers analyzed the impact of the policies. Finally, they concluded the key factors of water policy implementation. As a recent article (published in 2003), it can provide helpful and relevant information that can then be compared to data from article [1] and be used as a significant source to be referred to in our research. Similarities and differences between the provided articles: Both articles [1] and [2] provide valuable and significant information which can be incorporated into our research plan. However, they will be allocated to the stage in which they will be most useful at in our research. The common focus of both articles is the effect of pricing policy on the demand of consumption of water. However, they deviate at some themes. [1] examines the effect on the domestic range of citizens, on the other hand, [2] investigates the impact on agriculture.

References: [1] Qdais, HA Abu, and H. I. A. Nassay. (2001, May) "Effect of pricing policy on water conservation: a case study." Water Policy 3, [Online] vol.3, pp. 207-214. Available: http://galileu.iph.ufrgs.br/mendes/HIP-04/Aula_3/wp01.pdf [Feb. 20, 2013]

[2] Chohin-Kuper, Anne, Thierry Rieu, and Marielle Montginoul. (2003, June) "Water policy reforms: Pricing water, cost recovery, water demand and impact on agriculture. Lessons from the Mediterranean experience." Water Pricing Seminar, Agencia Catalana del Agua and World Bank Institute, Barcelona, [Online] vol. 30. Available: http://www.semide.net/media_server/files/i/9/CohinRieuMontginoulWaterpolicyreformspricing watercostrecoverywaterdemand.pdf [Feb. 20, 2013]