This article provides a summary of a five-day dialogue programme of meetings, presentations, discussions and field trips entitled ‘Innovations in water and waste management: Models of transferability to the MENA region’,

The Sultanate of Oman is holding a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The population of Oman is 4.43 million (2016).

groundwater is the main water resource in Oman used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes.

Among the major water infrastructure is a large number of desalination plants, including nine plants in operation that produce more than 100,000 m3/d

There are many governmental organizations involved in water management. The major ones are: the Ministry of Water Resources and Regional Municipalities;

There are no water agreements in place for the southern part of the Umm er Radhuma-Dammam aquifer system, which is shared between Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.

The ‘National Water Resources Master Plan’ also states that water in Oman is, and will remain, one of the country’s most valuable resources.

Fanack Water interviewed the ambitious al-Bulushi during the event, asking her about her project, her aspirations and vision.

What makes this particularly painful for that residents of Khuzestan is that the dams on the Karun are not only used for generating energy and irrigating agricultural land, they are also used to channel water via tunnels to other provinces, notably Isfahan in central Iran, which is politically more power. Many residents in Khuzestan feel that their water is being stolen.

The ultimate goal of the programme is to create a generation of young professionals who are dedicated to solving the current water problems by applying communication, collaboration and co-creation approaches that cut across political, practical and scientific domains.