Scientific knowledge and technological innovation can help solve key water management issues. The latest advances in science and technology can help address the use of water by irrigation in arid and semi-arid regions of the world in order to help achieve the MDGs, in particular the MDG on combating poverty and hunger.
The main reason for the huge explosion in the use of groundwater resources is technological innovation. The introduction of increasingly cheap tube well and mechanical pump technology and its wide availability has facilitated a social revolution in the use of groundwater, which has produced great socio-economic benefits.
Desalination is one of the most obvious technological advances in relation to access to ‘new’ water resources. Desalination is used mainly in arid and semi-arid areas either located inland where the only available water source is saline or brackish groundwater, or in coastal areas. Globally, about 50% of global desalination takes place in the Gulf, followed by North America (16%), Europe (13%), Asia (11%) Africa (5%) and the Caribbean (3%), whilst South America and Australia each accounted for about 1% of the global desalination volume in 2002 according to the International Desalination Association (UNESCO-WWAP, 2006).
However, these trends are changing, with other countries considering desalination, particularly for public water supply like China, Mexico, Turkey and North Africa (Global Water Intelligence, 2007). In terms of the uses for desalinated water, municipalities are the largest users (63%), followed by industry use (25%). Additionally — and in view of climate change — desalination is often a key strategic option for many island environments. In terms of future uses, the IDA predicts new demands for desalination for recreation and tourism, the military, and irrigated agriculture (UNESCO-WWAP, 2006).
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