Saline water, peace, and security: Analyzing the impact of desalination on transboundary groundwater interactions in the Middle East

Maureen Walschot

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

In the context of decreasing water quantity and quality, the increasing use of different technologies helps to face water security threats such as economic growth, demography, and climate change. Seawater desalination technology is one of them. The treatment of seawater produces an additional supply of freshwater that can meet the growing demand. In some parts of the world, such as in Saudi Arabia or Israel, desalinated water already constitutes more than half of the national water supply. Nevertheless, this technological fix also brings a lot of political, social, financial, and environmental challenges. This study States that by reducing stochasticity in terms of water quantity and quality, the technology lessens the sense of water scarcity and provides the desalinating State greater flexibility in its approach to transboundary water management, including groundwater. As the technology keeps developing worldwide, with costs decreasing and innovations increasing, how does technological change affect transboundary groundwater interactions? This book chapter revolves around the Israel- Palestine and the Saudi Arabia-Jordan case studies to produce a picture of the impact of large-scale desalination on hydropolitics and transboundary groundwater management. This study fills an existing gap in the groundwater security and desalination nexus while laying the foundations for further research.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNew Perspectives on Transboundary Water Governance
Subtitle of host publicationInterdisciplinary approaches and Global Case Studies
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages158-179
Number of pages22
ISBN (Electronic)9781003829591
ISBN (Print)9781032367668
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Luis Paulo Batista da Silva, Wagner Costa Ribeiro, and Isabella Battistello Espíndola; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
  • General Environmental Science
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • General Social Sciences

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