This project studies policy options for reducing the use of water for agriculture in Abu Dhabi. It aims to answer the question, ‘how can Abu Dhabi reduce its water use in the agriculture sector while meeting demand cost-effectively?’ 

Groundwater withdrawals in Abu Dhabi exceed the natural recharge rate of the aquifers. Maintaining the current patterns of groundwater use for agriculture and forestry could lead to the depletion of usable groundwater in a few decades. This project will build a model to determine the optimal crop portfolio for a given water consumption budget (volumetric) for Abu Dhabi, on an annual basis.