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Supply systems for water, energy and food in the Gulf region are becoming highly interlinked. In the last decades, interdependence was evident in the increase of coproduction plants and the cross-sectoral resource use footprints. In light of increasing integration due to growing scarcities, the construction of mega projects for coproduction, and the use of renewables across sectors, the security notion can be revisited. This paper proposes a view of the resource supply security based on the systems’ characteristics under change and their ability to deal with risks and shocks (resilience). It introduces internal and external risk factors for the water, energy and food supply systems in the Gulf region and highlights recent knowledge on such risks. Further, the paper explains the vulnerability of supply systems to planning risks like scale, integration intensity and level of service provisions together with risks related to growth, technology, market and climate. In light of such insecurities, we stress the importance of investing in risk management and resilience policies in infrastructure planning. Response measures to future risks can focus on options like storage, knowledge, diversification and, importantly, promoting regional cooperation and synergies from common infrastructure planning between countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

One way to encourage agricultural self-sufficiency in arid regions is to increase the productivity of conventional freshwater agriculture. Another way is to develop and implement novel strategies and technologies that do not deplete scarce freshwater. Here we describe several options for countries in the Gulf region to increase their agricultural production by taking advantage of a lesser used resource-marginal water. Marginal water can be treated sewage effluent, produced oilfield water, brackish groundwater or seawater. We describe how this resource can be used to grow salt-tolerant forage crops, microalgae and aquaculture crops. Policies needed to implement and/or scale-up such practices are also outlined.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and the wider Arab world are faced with multiple interconnected dilemmas embedded in the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development. The question of how to design effective sustainability strategies that are aligned with the context of the GCC region is a relevant one. In this special issue, contributors have investigated the obstacles to sustainable development in the GCC region, the impact of current development patterns on the sustainability agenda, and the way in which countries react to local, regional, and global sustainability pressures and debates. The issue aimed to provide a platform for academics to present policy-relevant research and practical steps being taken towards realising genuine sustainable development within the GCC region, while teasing out the major obstacles to this process. This regional focus is motivated by the shared challenge of GCC countries of reforming carbon-based economies as well as their systems of high subsidisation and universal benefits in order to incorporate sustainable concerns, merit-based rules, and more targeted policies. While these challenges are shared with other Arab countries, as well as other countries exporting oil and gas, the origins, current patterns, and future directions of sustainability reforms in the GCC region reveal interesting lessons to be learnt.The countries of the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)) are home to a large supply of fossil fuels and various types of minerals, and they are rich with regard to Arabic and Islamic culture and history. The economies of the GCC countries are characterised by their heavy dependence on exports of fossil fuels. These exports have generated significant revenues that have resulted in high per-capita income levels and decent living standards. Since the 1970s, the dominant development view in the region centred on economic growth, wide job creation through public jobs for national citizens, a heavy reliance on immigrant workers, and an ecosystem for a comprehensive distribution of economic and social benefits among nationals. Owing to the significant revenues generated from oil and gas as well as the ambitious plans of the leadership within the GCC, the GCC nations have transformed into very modern states during the past few decades. Recently, the fiscal sustainability of this model has been questioned in response to increasing demands from the growing population and economies for natural resources and for financial support. It is this factor that has made the biggest contribution to the sense of urgency regarding sustainability reforms in the region.Collectively, the GCC nations have a population of more than 40 million people. The region is one of the most urbanised in the world, with around 80% of the population residing in urban areas, mostly in close proximity to coasts where important ecosystems and cultural heritage are located. Roughly 40% of the GCC region's population are people born ou...