RIYADH: Riyadh will host the Saudi Water Forum from April 29 to May 1 under the patronage of the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley. Water security and sustainability are two of the most important concerns being examined and discussed internationally, and are major challenges facing Saudi Arabia, given the region’s scarcity of water resources and continuous population growth. Increasing and accelerating demands for water place great strain on Gulf states, driven by economic growth and the improvement of quality of life. The SWF posted on X: “Sustainability of water resources is among the fundamental issues that concern countries ... How can it be enhanced in Saudi Arabia!!? Join us to explore the proposed solutions and learn about the prominent local and regional experiences contributing to enhancing the sustainability of water resources within the #SaudiWaterForum program from April 29th to May 1st, 2024, at Hilton Riyadh.” The Ministry Environment Water and Agriculture plans to organize the SWF as one of the most important events at local, regional, and international levels, to create a meeting platform between industry leaders, experts, and key stakeholders. The forum endeavors to gather developers, investors, scientists, and researchers in the field with the relevant official entities, represented by the MEWA, Saline Water Conversion Corp., National Water Co., Saudi Water Partnership Co., the Saudi Irrigation Organization, Water Transmission and Technologies Co., the Water Regulator, and the National Water Efficiency and Conservation Center to present strategies on achieving solutions to challenges facing the sector. The SWF will showcase the best practices and successful experiences in developing water projects that align with the needs of the Kingdom and contribute to confronting the challenges. Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s driest countries and the world’s third largest per capita consumer of water after the US and Canada, announced a national program for rationalizing water consumption in the Kingdom at the SWF in 2019, setting ambitious targets that include slashing usage by nearly 24 percent by 2020 and around 43 percent by 2030.  Speaking at the SWF in 2019, Al-Fadley, officially launched the Qatrah (Arabic for ‘droplet’) program, aimed at reducing water consumption as part of the MEWA’s efforts to attain water sustainability. Through the program, the MEWA aims to reduce daily per capita consumption from 263 liters to 200 liters by 2020 and to 150 liters by 2030.