Abu Dhabi Environment Agency Advances “Source-to-Sea” Initiative in Bali on October 26
On October 26, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi announced that it had taken part in the 11th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, with the agency's Secretary General, Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, attending as one of the keynote speakers at the opening ceremony and chairing the third chapter side event of the “Source-to-Sea” initiative during the conference, on the theme “From Source to Large Marine Ecosystems: Where Water Meets Life”. At the side event, Al Dhaheri presented Abu Dhabi's experience of managing water resources under a unified, integrated system, emphasising how evidence-based governance connects freshwater management with marine ecosystem protection, linking the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water with Goal 14 on life below water. The “Source-to-Sea” initiative brings together policymakers, scientists, international organisations and industry leaders, advocating that water be managed as a connected system from inland sources and aquifers to coasts and oceans, and Abu Dhabi's model combines circular water management with marine protection. The initiative was launched in July this year at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, travelled to Seoul, South Korea, in September, and has now come to Bali, building momentum for the 2026 UN Water Conference, which the UAE will co-host in Abu Dhabi from December 8 to 10. For the UAE, water resource management is both a survival issue and a diplomatic topic, and how to use water sustainably in an arid climate is experience it shares with the world.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 巴厘岛库塔海滩日落（资料图）。摄影：Jakub Hałun，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Kuta Beach sunset, Bali (file photo). Credit: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
