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dam-l Desalination symposium/LS
the following is a press release describing
the outcome of a conference on desalination.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact 618/453-4009
September 20, 1999
EXPERTS CALL FOR DRAMATIC ACTIONS TO AVERT GLOBAL
WATER CRISIS
CARBONDALE, ILL. - A grave global water crisis will be averted only if the
United States and countries throughout the world make substantial
investments in developing efficient and effective technologies to remove
salt from seawater, a group of experts assembled at Southern Illinois
University asserted today.
The group - assembled under the sponsorship of SIU's Public Policy
Institute and the International Water Resources Association - issued a
series of recommendations, including a call for countries to commit 5
percent of what they spend on weapons research and/or 1 percent of
what they allocate for defense toward desalination.
"In the next 40 to 90 years, the world population will increase
dramatically, but our water supply will not increase. Nations have gone to
war over oil. They almost certainly will go to war over water if we don't
take significant action now," said former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, who is
founder and director of the Public Policy Institute and author of the
recently published book, Tapped Out. "Seawater comprises 97% of the
world's water. So a key component of our strategy to head off this looming
catastrophe must be to make seawater fit for public consumption."
The conferees noted in their statement of recommendations, 5 percent of
what Congress now appropriates annually for military research would amount
to nearly $2 billion. "Such an expenditure for desalination research could
have staggering results for a better world," the statement said.
As global population passes the 6 billion mark, the world is rapidly moving
towards widespread shortages of freshwater. Global water use has increased
five-fold this century and today's per capita availability is predicted to
decline by 1/3 over the next generation. Water shortages are rapidly
emerging. We are already failing to meet the most basic water requirements
of billions of people. Since 97% of the world's water is seawater, and
almost 70% of the world's population lives within fifty miles of the ocean,
greater research on and development of less expensive means of seawater
desalination should be an urgent priority.
The group recommended the United Nations seek the funding commitment
from the global community through a resolution of the General Assembly.
Other recommendations include:
* Encouraging Congress and the White House to follow through on
desalination and other efforts referred to by President Clinton and Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak in a joint statement focused on ways to foster a
permanent peace in the Middle East. Desalination of waters from the
Mediterranean and Red seas is viewed by experts as a way to further the
Mideast peace process by easing significant water conflicts. We urge
multi-national development and regional cooperation on desalination and
other water problems by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and other
nations in the Middle East.
* Encouraging international mechanisms to resolve disputes over access to
water.
* Providing financial incentives to the private sector when it conducts
research and demonstration on new and improved desalination.
* Pressing for greater commitment to energy research in desalination -
including promising areas such as developing a better understanding of how
plants desalt water and use of solar and wind energy.
* Intensifying efforts to stabilize global population growth through
voluntary family planning. With world population now exceeding 6 billion
people, it becomes increasingly important that we achieve a balance among
population, the resource base of the planet and its environment. Population
growth not only taxes water resources but also can create plague-producing
public health conditions that are often water-related.
* Encouraging the Department of Defense to continue funding advanced
research into desalination and other water technologies in order to protect
our present and future security interests.
* Encouraging water districts to have a 1 percent voluntary taxation that
would fund further research and development into desalination and other
means of solving water supply and demand problems.
* Reauthorizing and expanding the Water Desalination Research Act to
provide appropriate resources and encourage the administration and Congress
to appropriate fully the authorized funding; to establish a productive
program
of research and development and demonstration; to transfer the results of
this work through international bi-annual technology transfer symposia, and
to establish a funded expert panel to properly evaluate new concepts.
The recommendation concerning desalination in the Mideast came from the
conference's keynote speaker, Wayne Owens, who is president of the Center
for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. The former Utah
congressman, who had just returned from the Middle East, stressed
desalination could be a major factor in facilitating a permanent agreement.
Other participants included Dr. James Birkett, West Neck Strategies; Werner
Fornos, The Population Institute; Peter Gleick, the Pacific Institute for
Studies in Development, Environment and Security; Mark Hammond, Southwest
Florida Water Management District; Peter Hofmann, Stone and Webster
Engineering Corporation; Gordon Leitner, International Desalination and
Water Reuse Quarterly; Andrew Macoun, The World Bank; Kevin Price, U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation; Glenn Stout, past president of the International
Water Resources Association; William Warren, Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency; Ian Watson, AEPI/RosTek, Inc.; and Floyd Wicks, American
States Water Company.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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