Question 3

Sea water desalinization (desal), is increasingly promoted as a means to prevent and/or

overcome fresh water shortages in coastal villages, cities and entire regions. Private
companies that install large and small desalinization facilities are multiplying around the
globe and many private as well as public water service providers are investing in the
application of this technology to guarantee their fresh water supply. However, there are also
groups that protest and oppose this development at local and regional levels. The
contestations that emerge around these specific water technologies clearly highlight the
intrinsic and often contested relations there exist between society, water and technology.
See the following short video for more background information on desalinization:
https://youtu.be/bfr82RB72U8

During the course we have extensively discussed the relations between water, society and
technology through different analytical lenses. Based on the insights that you have gotten
from the course:

a) Discuss two questions and two related insights a Social Construction of

Technology approach (see the article of Winner (1980) in block 2.1) would bring to the fore
when applied to the study of water desalinization as a technology?

Question in the article of Winner (1980): Do Artifacts Have Politics?

1. Are the social conditions predicated said to be required by, or strongly compatible
with the working of a given technical system?
2. Are those conditions internal to that system or external to it (or both)?

The concept of desalination technologies often has an impact on the coastal area and its
ecosystem. It means the social conditions that are correlated with the construction and
operation of desalination systems are required. For instance, the cost of treatment is
considerable, so preventing any troubles can benefit the overall treatment expenditure. The
social condition for this is the requirement of qualified engineers and technicians who are
able to operate and maintain the water treatment plant. At the same time, there are local
communities living around the site that have been taken into consideration since they are
impacted by the seawater abstraction. In most the case, the involvement of local
communities in the project will give a social support to decrease any possibility of social
tensions in the future. This gives a sight that the impacted stakeholder can be a mutual
partnership to be, firstly, manpower to operate and secondly, becoming the objection of
company’s (the plant owner) to being socially responsible. Another argument is that
desalination technologies have successfully addressed the drinking water crisis and
expanded treatment options.The mobile desalination plant also helps to decentralize the
treatment, reaching some remote areas to promote water accessibility. However, the cost
and complexity of treatment made this technology exclusive to big companies instead of
being owned by individuals. Therefore, its compatibility is still questioned.

In conclusion, the social conditions between the reliability of the operation of the
desalination plant and the availability of the local community can be perceived as an
internal condition that is correlated with the artifacts.

3. Conditions internal to that system or external to it? Internal: political insentives,

what they want to achieve, external: other stakeholders
 b) Describe two institutional risks related to large scale desalinization from the
perspective of the common problems found in hydraulic bureaucracies and water service
providers as discussed in Block 4.2 through the articles Molle et al., (2009); and Marks and
Breen (2021).

Constructing a large-scale desalination plant requires great financing, and, in some

cases, corruption may potentially happen within the state institutions. Especially, the case
when employees in institutions are not welfare and underpaid thus lead to socio-economic
distruption. In a wider definition, the corruption activities include bribery, undue influence,
and both grand and petty corruption (Marks and Breen, 2021). As institutions gain control
over water infrastructure or management, they have more influence over other parties that
have high interest in or influence over clean water sectors. In the case of developing
countries, the government has the power to draft the regulations to build the desalination
plant, including environmental and technical procedures that can be fitted to any investor's
or private sector's interests. To gain some compliance flexibility, the private sector must
bribe decision-makers in government institutions. Similarly, to water providers, giving
priority or paying less to certain consumers are realized as common behavior of corruption
acts.

Power identities may emerge among actors or state institutions seeking control over
bureaucracies. Molle et al. (2009) define it as rivalries between hydrocracies and other state
bureaucracies. The competition to operate and own the desalination plant is highly
dependent on its function. Because it is used for drinking water, a conflict might appear
between the drinking water state company and the water construction company. In addition,
regional state bureaucracy also plays a role to claiming the success of establishments in
order to gain public trust and be re-elected as successful in providing clean drinking water.
The reason for this is that institutions' objections overlap as they seek public recognition.
The desalination artefacts might symbolize their interest and claim of successes.

c) Give two insights you expect to get if desalinization projects would be analysed
through the notion of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) (see Block 5.2)

1. Desalination projects can be formed in many technological models and

configurations, such as reverse osmosis membrane, thermal desalination, and
electrodialysis. The extensive use of desalination technologies does not only support
drinking water purposes but also industrial utilities. As the consequence of
implementing this technology, in SSP5, the energy usage is assumed to increase
along with population and economic growth. Additionally, the source of energy is
matter that could potentially contribute to the CO 2 footprint if most of the sources
are not renewable or green energy (SSP1). In order to mitigate the issue, the source
of electricity for the desalination process can be obtained through green energy
sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal. This approach can
significantly reduce its contribution to CO 2 Approaching water savings through
consumer behavior can also reduce the amount of clean water produced by the
desalination process.
2. However, because fossil fuels are still considered the cheapest source of energy, the
transition to renewable energy may have an impact on water prices. Therefore, the
competition for clean water might appear in some risky regions that are
experiencing water scarcity (SSP3). This is also correlated to SSP 4. Although
desalination technology provides more accessible clean water to consumers
regardless of location, the cost of treatment remains an issue. For example, 48% of
global desalinated water is coming from the Middle East and North Africa region,
 but only rich countries are able to afford it. As a result, this implementation may
result in water quality disparities around the world.

d) Based on the above, describe your own positioning with regards to desalinization
by elaborating on what you consider the most important opportunity, challenge and
alternative to this technology (elaborate at least one opportunity, one challenge and one
alternative). Support you answers based on the material that was offered to you during the
course by properly referring to it (at least 2 articles).

I partially agree that desalination technologies will help to reduce today's and tomorrow's
socioeconomic challenges. To begin, the opportunity presented by this technology is
sufficiently promising to be applied to some areas with water stress areas. Not only does the
technology work for seawater, which is geographically concentrated along the coast, but it
also works for surface and ground water, which benefits the surrounding residents. In
addition, the treatment process also benefits industrial activities that promote economic
growth and align with the explanation in SSP5. It is also relevant to the current economic
crisis that governments are aiming to sustain clean water supplies for human consumption
and industrial utilities.

However, the consequences of allowing these technologies negatively impact two aspects.
Firstly, in terms of planetary-boundary values, this opportunity might trigger the
overexploitation of seawater and groundwater resources that impairs the natural streamflow,
wetlands, and related ecosystems (Springmann et al., 2018). Another consequence of doing
so is the introduction of salt water into deltaic areas. Second, as reflected in SSP4, the
inequality could be caused by disparities in purchasing power across regions as a result of
high-cost treatment.

Some alternatives are: first, regulating the seawater abstraction to maintain the
environmental flow requirement at a certain level. Secondly, there should be a scheme to
decentralize the desalination treatment, making it more accessible for drinking water. In
addition to this public funding scheme, international aid and donors are becoming essential
to supporting local drinking water plants using membrane technologies (Funder et al. 2018).
As an impact, it will reduce the financial burden in some poor areas to drink the same
quality drinking water.

Funder, M., Mweemba, C., Nyambe, I. (2018). The Politics of Climate Change Adaptation
in Development: Authority, Resource Control and State Intervention in Rural Zambia, The
Journal of Development Studies, 54:1, 30-46, DOI:10.1080/00220388.2016.1277021
Marks, D. & Breen, M. (2021). The Political Economy of Corruption and Unequal Gains
and Losses in Water and Sanitation Services: Experiences from Bangkok. Water
Alternatives 14(3): 795-819
Molle, F., Mollinga, P. P., Wester, P. (2009). Hydraulic Bureaucracies and the Hydraulic
Mission: Flows of Water, Flows of Power. Water Alternatives 2(3):328-349
Springmann, M., Clark, M., Mason-D’Croz, D., Wiebe, K. Bodirsky, B. L., Lassaletta, L.,
Vries, W. d. (2018). Option for Keeping the Food System within Environmental Limits.
Springer Nature Limited. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0594-0