Page 10 - AW SEPOCT 2019

WORLD NEWS

India plans to install floating

desalination plants along its coastline

he Economic Times, India, reports that Niti Aayog is Sagarmala aims to modernise ports in the country
Tplanning desalination plants in the country’s territorial so that port-led development can be augmented and
waters or along its 7,800km coastline to address the growing coastlines can be developed to contribute growth.
water crisis. These plants, likely to run on solar or ocean The official asked why it was not possible to put some
energy, will supply the desalinated water via pipelines. A desalination plants in India’s vast coastline and its marine
Niti Aayog report said that 21 major Indian cities could run waters and supply it to population centres through a
out of water by 2020. Converting desalinated water into network of pipelines.
fresh water has been expensive, but countries like Israel According to the Niti Aayog’s report on the Composite
and Australia have seen large-scale commercialisation. Water Management Index released last year, 600 million
While desalination is a good complement to produce Indians face high-to-extreme water stress and about two
drinking water when other sources are depleted, it is lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to
not a quick-fix: it has environmental and energy cost safe water. It, however, added that the crisis is only going
disadvantages too and all these considerations should to get worse.
guide all major decisions in today’s world. It had also predicted that 21 Indian cities, especially
The government think-tank is embarking on this move as Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad, would run out
recently, several parts of the country, especially Chennai, of the water by 2020.
faced severe water crisis, owing to poor storage in various The report had predicted that by 2030, the country’s
reservoirs following deficit rainfall. water demand is projected to be twice the available
‘The Niti Aayog is working on linking desalination of sea supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of
waters with the Sagarmala project,’’ a top government millions of people.
official told Press Trust of India (PTI) on condition of Last year, the Gujarat government had sought Israel’s
anonymity. technical support to set up desalination plants. AW

Lebanon ranked third worldwide for

water stress

report by the World Resources Institute has ranked countries further into extreme stress.”
A Lebanon third worldwide for its poor management In addition, the threat from climate change is only set
of water resources, and the day when taps run dry is to make matters worse, with the World Bank predicting that
approaching. the region will suffer from economic losses of 6-14 percent
The report said Lebanon has “extremely high baseline of GDP due to climate-related water scarcity.
water stress” and ranks third globally behind Qatar and All is not lost however. The report noted that
Israel. approximately 82 percent of wastewater in the MENA
Within Lebanon, the Baalbeck-Hermel province ranks region is not used, and that if these resources were
the worst for water stress with Akkar, Mount Lebanon, Beirut harnessed properly, countries could benefit from a new
and South Lebanon tied for the least levels of stress. source of clean water.
The report says that the top category for water stress Internationally, the report found that water withdrawals
– areas scoring 4 or above – is dominated by Middle have seen a more than twofold increase since the 1960s
Eastern and North African countries (MENA), with 12 out due to growing demand.
of 17 entries situated in the region. What is more, these 17 “The data is clear,” it said, “there are undeniably
countries are home to more than a quarter of the world’s worrying trends in water.”
population, with India, at No. 13, home to more than three Still, if governments take action now to invest in better
times the population of the other 16 countries combined. infrastructure, increase agricultural efficiency and recycle
“The (MENA) region is hot and dry, so water supply is wastewater more effectively, there is hope that water issues
low to begin with, but growing demands have pushed can be solved, the report said. AW

8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 Asian Water