In this blog post, we will examine the potential and limitations of science and technology in solving water scarcity and consider whether technology can truly be the ultimate answer.
Blue gold is one of the most abundant resources on Earth, but it is also one of the most scarce. Although it has been used by humans since the dawn of time, we have only recently begun to realize its importance. It is one of the resources where the imbalance in distribution is most apparent. While some people have unlimited access to it, others fight wars to secure the minimum amount necessary for survival. More than 70% of the planet’s surface is covered with water, but less than 1% of it is available for human use. Blue gold, in other words, is water.
Humanity is currently facing a serious water shortage crisis. To be precise, it has always been a latent problem, but it is only recently that we have begun to recognize it. Since the beginning of agriculture, and even before that, the history of humankind has developed based on how we control water. The agricultural revolution, which led to the settlement of humankind, would have been impossible without technologies for systematic water management, such as irrigation and flood control. However, water has always been considered a scarce resource because it is difficult to store in sufficient quantities, and technologies for its efficient management have been continuously developed. Although humanity has long strived to utilize water as a resource, this issue has recently gained renewed attention due to rapid environmental changes such as desertification and water pollution caused by industrialization in developing countries, which have exacerbated the imbalance in water resources between countries. This is becoming a serious problem that can no longer be postponed, especially in Central Africa, where desertification is rapidly progressing, and in Southeast Asia, where water sources have been polluted due to rapid industrialization.
Many approaches have been proposed and actually tested to solve the serious water shortages in some countries. The simplest and most widely used methods are to invest financial resources to import water resources or to improve irrigation facilities to increase storage capacity. However, this is difficult to adopt because most countries suffering from water shortages are developing countries with insufficient financial resources. Furthermore, importing water resources does not solve the fundamental problem, and improving irrigation facilities requires long-term follow-up management, which is a major issue. There are proposals to distribute water resources, which are politically and diplomatically unevenly distributed, more evenly, but this would require resolving complex inter-country interests. Recently, various alternatives to the traditional approach have been proposed, among which technological solutions are attracting considerable attention.
Considering that the technology will mainly be applied in developing countries, it is particularly important that the technology used to solve this problem be low-cost, highly efficient, and require no special follow-up maintenance. Technology targeting underdeveloped countries is often referred to as appropriate technology. Simply put, this means that mechanical manual pumps, which are simpler in terms of pure technology and less expensive than electric pumps, which are costly to install and operate, are more effective than wells that use electric pumps.
There are two main areas of research into technologies for solving water shortages. One is water purification technology, including seawater desalination, and the other is transportation technology for conveniently transporting water from safe sources. Qudrum, which proposes a doughnut-shaped water container that allows even small children to easily carry 50 liters of water, is an example of appropriate technology that facilitates convenient water transportation.
Water purification technologies, including seawater desalination, have already been extensively researched, and large-scale desalination facilities are currently under construction in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, in order to achieve a high level of water purification efficiency, it is necessary to invest in large-scale desalination facilities, which require significant initial costs and are expensive to operate, making them difficult to implement in less developed countries. However, recent research has suggested the possibility of a desalination device that can be carried around and operated with the power of a single battery using electrohydrodynamics instead of the conventional solar energy method. Currently, research is underway to improve performance and commercialize the device. In addition, artificial rainfall and groundwater irrigation are being actively researched to solve water shortages caused by severe droughts.
However, can these technological advances be more than a temporary solution and become the ultimate answer? Some people are wary of technological determinism, saying that such technological approaches have clear limitations and cannot be the answer in the end, and that other alternatives must be sought. However, scientific and technological approaches to water scarcity are still the closest thing to a solution at present.
One limitation of technological solutions is that they cannot resolve the political conflicts underlying water scarcity. Most water-scarce countries are concentrated in Africa and South Asia, and many of them share the same water resources. This inevitably leads to water conflicts, and some countries weaponize their water resources to monopolize water that could be shared with neighboring countries. A typical example is the water dispute between countries bordering the Nile River. A total of eight countries border the Nile River, but only Egypt and Sudan monopolize the water source upstream and benefit from it. Therefore, the other countries are trying to build dams upstream to share the water, but Egypt and Sudan, which have traditionally benefited from the Nile, oppose this on the grounds that the Nile’s water resources are insufficient.
However, it is not necessary to resolve political conflicts in order to solve individual water shortages. If the application of technology focuses on individuals rather than large entities such as countries or organizations, it will not be a major problem. The portable water desalination device mentioned earlier is one example. Furthermore, it is more accurate to say that political conflicts caused water shortages rather than political conflicts causing water shortages. Therefore, rather than resolving political conflicts to solve water shortages, it is more accurate to say that resolving water shortages will naturally resolve conflicts over resources.
Furthermore, technological solutions can address the root cause of water shortages: the lack of sufficient fresh water for a population of 6 billion people. It has been proven that it is technically possible to supply sufficient water resources to areas where fresh water is not available through seawater desalination and artificial rainfall, as mentioned earlier.
The numerous problems that science and technology have solved in the past also provide historical grounds for the hope that technological advances will be able to fundamentally solve the water shortage problem. The fear of infectious diseases that humanity has faced has largely disappeared through advances in medicine, and the development of communication technology is eliminating the constraints of time and distance that have existed since ancient times. In addition, humanity has already developed technologies for efficient water management and has experience in using them as a stepping stone for further development.
Of course, relying on science and technology alone to solve problems always carries risks. However, it is true that the role that science and technology can play in solving water shortages has been underestimated, and it has not been addressed as a fundamental solution to the problem. Nevertheless, science and technology have succeeded in achieving more visible results than other measures that have been implemented more intensively. It is worth placing our trust once again in science and technology, which have always played a decisive role in the survival of humanity over the past few centuries.
