FAO International Conference: Industrial desalination as a tool to solve water crises. The Saudi approach applied to the South African case

Filippo Verre - May 15, 2023

It was a great privilege and an important meeting opportunity to participate on Friday 12 May in the Aqua Team for Sustainable Development, an event promoted by FAO and sponsored by MAECI, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The hydro-strategic challenges that await us all in the near future can be solved thanks to the cooperation between research institutions, companies, investors and experts who work to achieve goals of common interest.

A heartfelt thanks to the Mountain Partnership Secretariat for inviting us to present a contribution and for hosting us with great courtesy.

Aqua Team for Sustainable Development included a two-week course that was held online from 8 to 19 May 2023 and which offered two lessons per day in English held by high-profile international speakers. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat, an FAO agency active since 2002 to preserve the mountain ecosystem, was the main organizer of this event, with the technical support offered by the University of Turin – DISAFA.

In the first week (May 8-12) the training covered academic and institutional topics (governance and regulations, controls, hygiene and ecosystems). The second week (May 15-19) the training had a more practical approach and saw the participation of companies that presented their entrepreneurial skills in support of concrete cases.

Dr. Filippo Verre, president of AB AQUA, created a lesson on the importance of desalination as a tool to solve or prevent a water crisis: “Industrial desalination as a tool to solve water crises. The Saudi approach applied to the South African case”. Dr. Verre addressed the case of Saudi Arabia and the so-called “fossil-driven” desalination, that is, focused on the use of fossil fuels. In contrast to this polluting and expensive model, the presenter focused on solar-powered desalination, which has been growing rapidly in recent years. To support this, Dr. Verre cited the cases of Kenya and Namibia, two nations where solar desalination plants are present.

Below are some photos of the event and the slides that were presented during the lecture.

At this link it is possible to consult the slides that were presented during the conference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9r_lBxm8u04xL-TRuc-iDw43cJa7sWw/view?usp=sharing