place.

The situation is much worse than we thought - the increase in temperature and the level of ice melting are much worse than the worst estimation ever calculated," Saab said, while revealing a report on the impact of climate change on Arab countries carried out by the organization. The report suggests that Arab countries are especially vulnerable to climate change.

Not a single Arab country has a serious plan to confront the impacts of climate change, and among the most pressing challenges that will shortly face the Arab countries are dwindling water resources and rising sea levels, in addition to the impact of those two major factors on food productivity, and biodiversity in the region," Saab said.

The head of the environmental watchdog body said that in its 2008 report, AFED warned that by the year 2025 the Arab world would reach a 'red line' of water poverty, because each person's annual share of water will be less than 500 square meters, but it has revised this estimate since then, saying that this red line moment is coming far sooner than originally predicted.

Within the last two years, and with the release of this report, we know that the majority of Arab countries will reach that 'red line' long before the year 2025," he explained, adding, "We cannot afford to waste another drop of water.

Speaking to a gathering of government officials and private sector representatives, Abdulrahman Al-Awadhi, a member of the AFED's board of trustees, said that the forum intended to gather representatives of the public and private sector together to let them see a small portion of the impact human beings are having on the environment.

In a few years from now, the rising sea level will impose a new challenge on humanity, which is climate refugees, and we know that the majority of Arab nations live near the sea," Al-Awadhi said.

Al-Awadhi, a former minister, said that it is crucial that the ecological footprint of any future project should be planned and calculated in advance. "Without proper planning, the outcome could be catastrophic, and what happened in Um Al-Hayman is a small example of that," he added.

Current Minister of Commerce and Trade Ahmad Al-Haroun also delivered a speech at the event on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, in which he emphasized the private sector's important role in addressing climate challenges.

Environmental investment is required now more than ever, and the contribution of the private sector in investing in environmentally friendly projects, as part of their role in developmental plans is an essential condition in order for our future generations to live in a safe and clean environment," he said.

The event included the showing of a short documentary film about the impact of climate change, as well as an overview of the basic findings of the report. The report pointed out that tourism is an important sector of the economy for a number of Arab countries, and is highly vulnerable to climate change.

An increase of between 1-4 degrees Celsius in average temperature will cause a drastic decline in the index of tourism comfort all over the region. Bleaching of coral reefs will affect tourism in countries in the Red Sea basin, mainly Egypt and Jordan, while beach erosion and sea level rise will affect coastal tourist destinations in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon," the report states.