A responsibility of the desalination industry at large to the world's water poor...

Dr Emilio Gabbrielli. Water resources in sustainable development and the role of the desalination industry.

Water affects all other MDG targets, for example health and education.

“The poor cannot afford cheap water” Gabbrielli notes the paradox and notes that we must have cost recovery and accountability. Must recognise the real cost of water and make sure minimum quanties are available.

Gabbrielli’s slide considering the definition of cost are good (note to obtain these if possible), in order of reach, from: full supply cost, full economic cost, full cost.

In this context of developing water crisis there has been an unprecedented development of the desalination industry.

Gabbrielli provides a longer term perspective, stating that desalination is not new and has been practiced for centuries to fulfil very specific water need. Examples cited from Chile include: a solar still in Las Salinas built in 1872 and operational until 1912) providing water for mules working the mines, Antofagasta in 1882, mobile desalination plants providing water for the military and small facilities servicing the Chilean trains.

Global water scarcity is considered and spatial and temporal inequalities are highlighted. I was interested to see the striking slide Gabbrielli presented for GDP and rainfall plotted over the 20^th century to see the coincidence. I’m interested to know if there is a term in the literature used to describe such water centric relationships?

Gabbrielli staes that the desalination community at large has a responsibility to the world’s water poor (be that areas suffering long-term scarcity or short-term crises, perhaps brought about through natural disasters. He states that the IDA is looking at the “possible establishment of a Humanitarian Committee” and ends on a note of optimism that water can be an agent to bring people together.