The world's oceans have always been a source of food and other goods. The industrial-scale production of drinking water from the sea, however, has only become possible since the 1950s.
Drinking water in Bangladesh is often full of salt as rising sea levels force water further inland. Expensive technology offers solutions but who will foot the bill?
Momtaj Begum, holding her baby daughter, is among hundreds of women queuing for a pitcher of drinking water at a desalinisation plant in Tafalbaria, a remote village in the Bagerhat district in south-west Bangladesh.
A UNDP sponsored windmill-run water desalination plant has been installed in Badin coastal area, which provides one thousand gallons pure water per day, it was learnt on Thursday. Badin Rural Development Society, an allied NGO of Nice Link, undertook the project costing Rs 3 million.
Agronomists say that water logging, salinity, and non-agricultural uses are squeezing Pakistan's precious arable lands and posing serious threat to the agriculture sector and nation's food security.
In many regions around the world, demand for fresh water now outstrips renewable supplies. Water scarcity is projected to worsen considerably due to a combination of factors such as population increase, higher incomes and changing lifestyles, pollution, and climate change. Agriculture is by far the biggest water user, accounting for more than 70% of global withdrawals.
I HAVE received more emails from readers in response to my articles on Victoria's water supplies than for any other subject. One recurring theme has been: what has been the response of the authorities?
DESALINATION and other big-ticket solutions to Melbourne's water woes threaten to sideline alternatives, as a proposal to drop rainwater tanks is the subject of a row at the highest levels of State Government.
- Tanks in doubt
- Water estimates wrong
- Decision in balance
"There are water tank wars going on," a senior Government figure said, describing a debate being viewed as pivotal to the future of Victoria's water planning.
AMIDST the hefty energy crunch, let us not forget the equally pressing water problem. India's water problem is acute and growing - in three directions.
As demand for freshwater soars, planetary supplies are becoming unpredictable. Existing technologies could avert a global water crisis, but they must be implemented soon.
India could learn a thing or two from Israel when it comes to supplying municipal water to meet ever-rising demands. "Manufactured water' is probably the ideal solution, says Mo Provizor, director of the Israeli Water Authority. Speaking to The Indian Express on the sidelines of WATECH 2008, an international conference on industrial and urban water management technologies, he said Israel currently meets about 25 per cent of its water needs with recycled sewage water and desalinated seawater and brackish water; it has hopes of upping the number to 50 per cent by 2013.
