Academy of Strategic Management Journal Volume 19, Issue 2, 2020 1 1939-6104-19-2-536 STRATEGIC RISK MANAGEMENT (SRM): THE FUTURE OF DESALINATION IN THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) Saad Z. Darwish, Kingdom University Waleed K. Zubari, Arabian Gulf University ABSTRACT The problem of water scarcity in the GCC is on the increase due to the rapid population growth and escalating water demands beyond the capacity of these countries conventional water resources consisting mainly of the groundwater, the majority of which are non-renewable, and limited rainfalls. To meet the ever-increasing demands, the GCC countries resorted to non- conventional water sources, namely: desalination to largely meet urban water demands and to treated wastewater to contribute to irrigation water demands. Because of the constraints associated with the reuse of the treated wastewater, desalination expansion seems to be the most viable solution to reduce the widening gap between water demands and supply. Unfortunately, desalination is associated with high financial and economic costs, and environmental risks. Therefore, the GCC must address this problem by setting risk management plans to ensure the provision of water for the current and future generations at the minimum financial, economic and environmental costs possible. Keywords: Strategic Risk Management, Desalination, Water Resources, Scarcity, GCC. INTRODUCTION The Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) are located in one of the world most water scarce areas (Figure 1), and have extremely poor endowment of fresh water resources. Erratic scanty rainfall and high temperatures leading to high vapor transpiration rates characterize the majority of the area of the GCC countries. The region is devoid of permanent freshwater bodies or rivers. The per capita share of renewable natural water in the GCC countries is one of the lowest worldwide, reaching less than 100 m 3 /year. This figure is tremendously less than the acute line of 500 m 3 /year of water poverty, which means that the countries suffer from total scarcity of water which is considered as one of the main restrictions on development (Falkenmark, 1989). In the past four decades, the GCC countries have experienced unprecedented socio-economic growth, which was associated with major increases in water demands. To meet these rapidly increasing water demands under the prevailing water scarcity conditions, the GCC countries relied on desalination to meet the water requirements, especially for drinking water supply. At present, municipal water supplies in the GCC main cities are mainly dependent on desalinated water. However, despite this high dependence, desalination remains an imported technology in the region and provides limited added value to the economies of the GCC countries. This research addresses the future of desalination from the perspective of strategic risk management with the aim of minimizing future risks on the desalination industry.