Water, Water Everywhere - Desalination in Africa
When one thinks of the Blue Economy the first thing that likely comes to mind is water – sea water. Some 97% of the earth’s water is found in our oceans and when one thinks of how essential water is to every factor of our lives this is highly significant. our oceans and when one thinks of how essential water is to every factor of our lives this is highly significant.
According to World Bank Data, freshwater per capita has fallen by half, from 12,000 m3 in 1967 to 5732 m3 in 2017. The reason for the rapid decrease in global freshwater supplies is largely due to climate change and increased irrigation demands on account of a growing human population.
With that said it becomes all the more important to find ways to harness potable water from our oceans as a new source. It is only within the last two decades, that it has become a valuable way of harnessing water, especially in the likes of arid countries such as Namibia, Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Desalination has proven to be a valuable technology or methodology to provide freshwater to water starved areas.
The Future of Desalination in Africa is therefore evident to be a much beneficial way of preventing water shortages. Over the past few years of desalination development, Africa has been quick to maximise on the ocean’s capacity to harvest potable water.
There are however, various issues that can be addressed with the current advancement of desalination technologies providing further advancement and progress. Some of the opportunities include “achiev[ ing] national objectives, improv[ ing] regional integration, and to exert influence in [ a] global setting” according to a journal by Sustainability titled “Blue Gold: Advancing Blue Economy Governance in Africa”. There are many reasons for African countries wanting to maximise on
desalination, some of them include the already existing water insecurity due to climate change, growing populations, urbanization, and land degradation.
The Blue Growth Agenda for Africa
The Blue Growth Agenda is addressed in the African Union’s ( AU) Agenda 2063 and 2050Africa’s Integrated Maritime ( AIM) Strategy where there is a need to maximise the Blue Economy. Advancing desalination fits in well with the goals surrounding the security of water supplies and the tapping of Marine Resources as outlined under Agenda 2063.
Despite this push, there is no direct mention of desalination in the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy of 2012 which might be a missed opportunity given all the critical socio- economic areas the availability of potable water through desalination has the ability to address. A study from 2019 by Frost & Sullivan’s “revealed that the African desalination market is now stablising, and investment in desalination is gaining traction” indicates that the benefits of desalination are catching on. The existing desalination plants and avenues for incorporating renewable energies in these countries were discussed in the March Briefing of 2022, titled “The Future of Water” that can be accessed here: https://issuu.com/rdjbriefing/docs/rdj_briefing_-_march_2022 .
The conversation continues at briefing@rdjpublishing.africa
Readings:
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353923594_Desalination_From_Ancient_to_Present_and_Future
• https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7153
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/namibia-is-positioned-to-become-the-renewable-energy-hub-of-africa/
• https://www.dnv.com/oceansfuture/blue-economy.html
• https://www.envirosociety.org/2022/03/desalination-and-the-political-blue-economy-of-climate-adaptation/
• https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375720
• https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11151/2050_aims_srategy.pdf
• https://www.frost.com/news/press-releases/frost-sullivan-study-shows-desalination-investments-in-africa-on-the-rise/
• https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/water/desalination-market-growth-in-africa-on-the-rise-report/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011916421003763
• https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11151/2050_aims_srategy.pdf