The ‘challenging role of youth on resolving the water resources dilemma’ has been presented by Ammar A. Abdalla and Wifag H. Mahmoud as a proposal for the event along with banners as GWP Eastern Africa flagship for the conference. Enjoy the abstract with us.
'Abstract: In the year 2000 the United Nation (UN) announced the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate poverty worldwide by year 2015 and to bring the development to reality for all as well. The Seven’s goal of the MDGs is to ensure the sustainability of the Environment. It aims to better management for the environment to secure the natural resources needed by the coming generation. It is very obvious the strong relationship between poverty and the environment. The poor person, especially in the developing countries, depends more than others on agriculture and the natural resources. Thus, they are mostly more affected by the bad impact of the environment pollution or deterioration. The protection and preservation of the environment took a significant attention since long time in Sudan. But in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015 all efforts are needed. The situation of the world water resources is very crucial. The world limited surface water and groundwater are deteriorating and getting worse day after day. The ever growing population faces and will face acute water scarcity. This paper discusses the different ways and solutions to tackle these problems, such as environmental flows and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Main attention has been given to the role of youth can play in managing and developing the water resources and their environments. Although they acquire the energy and enthusiasms to deal with the different challenges and obstacles that might rise, they lack the demanded training, skills and experiences. Also, the aim of this paper is; to investigate the various approaches for capacity building for youth in the field of water resources management; giving youth the chance to contribute more and effectively in management and decision making processes- will encourage them and increase their commitment sense and responsibility towards assuring healthy and equitably used water resources for the time being and in the future. Youth of today are the leaders and decision-makers of tomorrow. As the water crisis is a growing issue that concern everyone and sector, they should take an immediate action. Applying the Integrated water Resources Management and environmental flows methods, as holistic approaches to assure sustainable water resources and environment, needs the collaboration between all stakeholders in water sector. Youth can play an important role within this regard; however, they still lack necessary experiences, skills, and training. They can be involved in the different water resources development programs by giving them the chance to take part. Since the development programs require the direct participation of the communities, who need to be trained and aware of such methodologies, youth can play an effective role on planning and executing a variety of increasing public awareness programs. The methodology to get data for this paper to ensure the role of youth- it was by; prepare several workshops, forums and meetings with stakeholders, also some interviews with decision makers and literature review.
Keywords Abstract; Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Water resources; scarcity; Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); awareness; youth and water conservation.'