Name: A country with no water
Uploaded: 2013-01-31T16:02:17Z
Duration: 8 min 29 s
Description: Imagine a country with abundant power -- oil and gas, sunshine, wind (and money) -- but missing one key essential for life: water. Infrastructure engineer Fahad Al-Attiya talks about the unexpected ways that the small Middle Eastern nation of Qatar creates its water supply.

Imagine a country with abundant power -- oil and gas, sunshine, wind (and money) -- but missing one key essential for life: water. Infrastructure engineer Fahad Al-Attiya talks about the unexpected ways that the small Middle Eastern nation of Qatar creates its water supply.

A country with no water

Qatar transformed from a scattered desert society with almost no water to a modern nation of 1.7 million people, boasting one of the world’s highest water consumption rates. With only 74 millimeters of rainfall a year and importing 90 percent of its food, survival depends on technology like desalination powered by abundant energy resources. The country now aims to use solar power for sustainable water and food security, ensuring long-term resilience in one of the planet’s driest regions.