Asit K. Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada

ARAB NEWS | 4 August 2026

The first Saudi Water Week was held in Jeddah from June 28 to July 2. The concept of a water week is not new. It has been around for more than three decades. Water weeks are held at regular intervals in many cities, including Stockholm, Singapore, Amsterdam, Cairo and New Delhi. Stockholm and Singapore are billed as international water weeks, whereas the rest are national with some international participation.

Having participated in previous water weeks, in this article we will explore how Saudi Water Week differed from the others.

More than 2,500 years ago, eminent Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote: “ The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it.” This philosophy is still valid, except issues are now much more complex. Human knowledge doubled every century until about 1900. Doubling time was reduced to 25 years by the end of the Second World War and to 13 months around 2010. It is estimated that, by 2035, knowledge will double every 12 hours.

Knowledge exposition raises two fundamental questions. First, how can professionals keep abreast of and use the deluge of new knowledge? Second, how can the available knowledge be used to solve societal problems?

The basic philosophy behind all water weeks is that these events bring together participants from different areas so that, during a single week, all the latest solutions and case studies on how complex water problems have been solved sustainably and cost-effectively can be shared. The implicit assumption is that, through presentations and discussions of how specific water problems have been solved and what were the enabling conditions that allowed them to do so, this knowledge can be effectively and widely disseminated. This knowledge can then be applied to solve water problems in other regions.

In reality, these objectives are seldom met during water weeks. That is because water weeks, which are regularly attended by more than 1,500 people, have primarily become networking events, with very little consideration of knowledge dissemination, let alone application. Very seldom do participants return home with knowledge of how complex water problems have been properly solved elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, none of the existing water weeks has ever attempted to distil any important information that may have been shared during the event.

In addition, all existing water weeks suffer from two serious shortcomings. First, discussions are overwhelmingly based on knowledge, experience and solutions relating to the past. They seldom consider global hydrometeorological conditions that are very different now compared to even pre-2020. These conditions are likely to become even more extreme and uncertain during the post-2030 world. Even then, water weeks generally promote concept paradigms that were conceived more than 70 years ago. These paradigms are now outdated and no longer valid or appropriate for modern times.

Second, solutions to water problems have to be local. They have to be national or subnational, based on: physical, climatic, institutional, political, social, economic, environmental and cultural conditions; the technical and management expertise available in each location; and the capacities for prompt new knowledge and technology adoption. There is also a time dimension. For example, what may have worked in Saudi Arabia in 2000 is unlikely to work now. Yet, none of the other water weeks consider such issues.

Our initial expectation was that Saudi Water Week would not differ significantly from similar events in other parts of the world. This turned out to be incorrect for the following reasons.

First, the focus of all the sessions we participated in was country-specific, on Saudi Arabia, and not on other countries.

Second, unlike in most other water weeks, discussions focused on specific problems or issues and their potential solutions. There were virtually no discussions of what we call “solutions in search of problems.” This means there are some universal paradigms or models that are already available and only problems are needed to which these predetermined historical solutions can be applied. In the real world, such approaches seldom work. Discussions during Saudi Water Week started with specific problems in the Kingdom and then moved on to what their solutions could be.

Third, it was refreshing to find that water professionals from all areas, including the public and private sectors, academia, research institutions and regional and international organizations, were represented in Saudi Water Week almost equally. This means that issues were discussed from multisectoral and multi-institutional perspectives.

Fourth, contrary to other water weeks, discussions took place on implementable and effective solutions, not on theoretical or “fashionable” solutions that mostly do not work.

Fifth, discussions were held on how the water-related targets of Vision 2030 could be realistically achieved — and not through old solutions that do not work anymore, since most boundary conditions have changed significantly. Several times, discussions veered to the water problems and issues of 2050 and beyond. This focus on the future is highly unusual.

Finally, in contrast to other water weeks, very senior professionals, including numerous deputy ministers, the CEOs of major national water companies, well-known academics and nongovernmental organization leaders, were present throughout the week. They did not come and then promptly disappear after their presentations, which is the hallmark of other water weeks. All stayed in the same conference hotel for most of the week. It was a real pleasure and privilege to meet them during various sessions, as well as over breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It was a pleasure to spend quality time with them and learn about the problems they are facing today and are likely to face in the future, while exchanging ideas on how these can be solved.

Saudi Water Week as a whole and the numerous informal discussions we held with water leaders made us realize how much the Kingdom’s water management has advanced, even from 2020. Based on what we learned, there are reasons to view Saudi Arabia’s water future positively.

Asit K. Biswas is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Glasgow, UK, and Executive Director of Water Management International Pte Ltd, Singapore. Cecilia Tortajada is an Honorary Professor at the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability, University of Glasgow, UK.

This article was published by ARAB NEWS, August 4, 2026.