UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at UPC Invited as Speaker at KISR Regional Workshop on AI for Sustainable Water Resources Management in GCC Countries

The UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at UPC participated as an invited speaker in the regional workshop “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM) for GCC Countries”, convened by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) in Kuwait on 16–17 December 2025. The agenda covered AI fundamentals and applied themes including AI in desalination and wastewater treatment, machine learning for demand forecasting, predictive maintenance for infrastructure, and smart sensors/IoT for real-time monitoring.

Organised under the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KISR, the workshop addressed the GCC’s severe water scarcity challenges and the need for innovative, intelligence-driven approaches in water management. It highlighted the potential of AI to improve water governance and operations through predictive analytics, automation, and real-time decision-making, supporting applications such as optimizing water distribution, improving desalination efficiency, detecting leaks, forecasting demand, and reducing contamination risks.

The Regional Workshop on "Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the GCC Countries" convened international and regional experts to explore the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) emerging technologies and cutting-edge AI, internet of Things (IoT), digital twins and blockchain in the water sector. Blockchain serves as a critical foundation for trust and transparency by providing a secure and unchangeable record for water data and transactions.

Against a backdrop of acute water scarcity, climate change, and steadily increasing water demand, the discussions underscored the role of AI not as a mere technological upgrade, but rather as a strategic enabler that must be embedded within strong data governance frameworks, skilled human capital, sound policy environments, and effective regional cooperation mechanisms to achieve water security, economic sustainability, and climate resilience.

The Workshop presentations and deliberations highlighted a clear consensus: successful integration of AI into water resources management requires a holistic and coordinated approach that combines advanced technological solutions with sustained foundational investments in data governance, institutional and human capacity development, enabling policies, and regional cooperation. Discussions also addressed practical applications across key water sector domains, as well as the importance of managing risks and ensuring the responsible and ethical use of AI technologies. Key recommendations derived from the workshop presentations and discussions, structured around three main thematic areas addressed during the event:

1. Data Governance, National Readiness, and Emerging Technologies

The session established the foundational pillars for successful AI adoption, emphasizing that effective AI implementation must be grounded in robust data availability, sound institutional frameworks, and adequate human capacities. It also highlighted key opportunities for applying emerging technologies and AI solutions to address the principal water-related challenges facing the GCC countries. Additionally, the discussions underscored the importance of data integrity, interoperability, cybersecurity, and clear governance arrangements as critical enablers for trustworthy and sustainable AI deployment.

2. Applications in the Water Sector and the WEFE Nexus

The session showcased the transformative potential of emerging technologies and AI in optimizing the entire water value chain, while effectively managing the critical interlinkages between water, energy, food, and ecosystems. Recognizing that agriculture accounts for the largest share of water consumption in the GCC, this session focused more on the role of AI and AI-based models, particularly ANNs integrated with IoT, as a key to unlocking significant efficiency gains and enhancing the sustainability of water use within the agricultural sector. The discussions further emphasized the need to move beyond isolated pilot projects toward integrated, system-wide deployment of AI-enabled solutions across the water sector.

3. AI Capacity Development, Education, and Awareness Raising

This session emphasized that successful technological transformation is ultimately dependent on human capital, highlighting the need to address ethical considerations and promote the responsible use of artificial intelligence as an integral component of AI adoption.  Participants also highlighted the importance of managing risks associated with AI adoption, including over-reliance on automated systems, data bias, and the need to preserve and strengthen core hydrological and engineering expertise alongside digital capabilities.

UNESCO Chair contribution as invited speaker

Within this regional platform, the UNESCO Chair’s participation reinforced its commitment to connecting science, innovation, and policy action for water security and climate resilience. The UNESCO Chair Director, Prof. Jordi Morató, contributed as an invited speaker with the presentation “AI for WEFE Nexus: Strengthening Climate Resilience and Water-Smart Irrigation.” His intervention positioned AI-enabled WEFE Nexus assessment as a practical pathway to support integrated planning, cross-sectoral decision-making, and water-smart strategies in arid and water-stressed contexts.

During the meeting, the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability team—represented by Dr. Jordi Morató and Mg. Olga Lucía Sánchez—held several bilateral meetings with key stakeholders, including Dr. Mostafa Ezziyyani (Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tangier, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Morocco (below, left), Eng. Ali Mohammed Khamis Al Hamdi from the Gulf Water Sciences and Technology Association, and Dr. Habibah Saud Al-Menaie, Senior Research Scientist at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) (below, right).

Among the next steps, the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability discussed the possibility of participating in the 16th Gulf Water Conference, organised by the Gulf Water Sciences and Technology Association, to be held in Muscat, Oman, from 19 to 23 April 2026.