A summer of extreme heat and drought around the world has been a reminder that water scarcity is a pressing issue and one that will only get worse with climate change. Already,
By Larissa Makiesa.
Leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are convening on Thursday to explore the next steps regarding the potential withdrawal of troops from the area.
According to News24, diplomatic channels with Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, remain open amidst a public dispute between Ramaphosa and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
In response to Ramaphosa on Wednesday night, Kagame took to Twitter, accusing him of “misrepresentation” and “even falsehoods” in his remarks concerning the deaths of South African soldiers in the eastern DRC.
Kagame concluded his message by stating:
“Should South Africa opt for confrontation, Rwanda will address the issue in that manner any time.”
On Thursday morning, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya expressed on X: “Our commitment to advocate for peace remains unwavering. We will uphold our dedication to Africa’s Agenda 2063!!!!!“Mbeki remarked: “It’s important to recognize that a section of the population in eastern DRC speaks Rwandan. A significant aspect of the issue in the Congo is that… there has been a denial that Banyamulenge are indeed Congolese.”
“Though they speak Rwandan, these individuals are Congolese, and it is the duty of any administration in Kinshasa to care for this demographic just like any other; yet we must recall the events during the BaHutu era.”
“The BaHutu held the view that these individuals were outsiders. It’s akin to South Africans asserting: ‘There are Tswana-speaking individuals here in the North West, and suddenly the rest of the nation declares that they are not South Africans; they should relocate to Botswana.’ What transpired in the Congo… that’s the reason for the rise of the Mai-Mai in the Eastern Congo.
“The Mai-Mai specifically targeted the Banyamulenge to expel them from the Congo into Rwanda. Nevertheless, it is imperative for the central Congo government to tend to this population, which is Congolese and Rwandan speaking.”
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Mbeki added that the second issue lies in the fact that the government’s administrative presence in Kinshasa does not extend into the east.
“Thus, you encounter a region of the nation that experiences minimal governance from the Kinshasa administration. Given the country’s vastness, there’s a weak governmental influence in the east, allowing alternative forces to arise and assume control.
When considering the M23, it’s impossible for the Congolese government to overlook its implications. Unless you declare: ‘We, the Congolese administration, will safeguard the Banyamulenge as we view them as Congolese citizens.’ Failing to make that assertion and permitting others to act as they please towards the Banyamulenge will ensure the persistence of the M23. They will procure weapons for self-defense.
Mbeki noted that this issue was addressed in discussions with President Joseph Kabila.
“It’s your duty to care for those individuals in the east.”
Furthermore, he elaborated that post the Sun City talks, there were talks regarding the appropriate integration of various nations into the Congolese government.
“However, that initiative faltered at some point…”
Mbeki added that Kagame and Kabila recognized, “You must manage your interactions in a specific manner since part of the dilemma involves individuals who perpetrated genocide in Rwanda fleeing to Eastern Congo, leading Rwanda to argue, ‘The very individuals you’re harboring there are those who intend to harm us—they have already done so and wish to repeat it.’ So, how do you navigate this relationship?”
Mbeki stated that the leaders reached an accord on how to engage with one another because “the (Rwanda and the DRC) cannot be separated.”
He mentioned that a pact was ultimately ratified.
“I believe it disintegrated along the way, yet these processes are essential. The Congolese government must take control of the eastern regions of Congo.
“Moreover, we need a framework among the DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda to manage their interactions. I believe that’s essential to addressing the challenges in Eastern Congo.”
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A summer of extreme heat and drought around the world has been a reminder that water scarcity is a pressing issue and one that will only get worse with climate change. Already, more than two billion people worldwide lack easy access to clean water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
For some countries, desalination plants offer a solution – removing salt from seawater to satisfy their freshwater needs. The Middle East has the highest concentration of these in the world. But such plants, still mostly powered by fossil fuels, are energy-intensive and the process creates an extremely salty wastewater known as brine, which can damage marine ecosystems and animals when it’s pumped back into the sea.
That’s why some startups and researchers are updating centuries-old solar still technology, which uses only sunlight to purify water. While the technology is still a long way off from producing the volume of freshwater generated by desalination plants, it could prove valuable for off-grid or coastal communities.
Abu Dhabi-based startup Manhat, founded in 2019, is developing a floating device that distills water without requiring electricity or creating brine. It consists of a greenhouse structure that floats on the surface of the ocean: sunlight heats and evaporates water underneath the structure – separating it from the salt crystals which, are left behind in the sea – and as temperatures cool, the water condenses into freshwater and is collected inside.
“It’s really similar to the natural water cycle,” says Dr. Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji, the company’s founder and associate professor at Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University. He says solar evaporation has long been used for this purpose, but typically it involves putting water in a basin where, once the water has evaporated, salt is left behind.
Unlike traditional solar stills, Manhat’s device floats in the ocean, drawing water directly from the sea. Salt does not accumulate in the device and the angle of the collection cylinder prevents water droplets evaporating back to the sea, says Alhassan.
Earlier this year, Manhat’s patented technology won the Water Europe Innovation award for small and medium enterprises with breakthrough solutions in the water sector, commended for its ability to produce freshwater with “zero carbon footprint and zero brine rejection.”
The startup plans to harness its technology in floating farms, which would use its desalination devices to provide freshwater irrigation for crops without the need for water transportation and its associated emissions.
This would benefit arid coastal areas where land is intensively farmed, says Alhassan. “If you produce (fresh) water on the sea’s surface and use it for farming, you can effectively allow arable land to be rejuvenated,” he says, adding that the technology could work well for countries like the Maldives that have little land available for desalination plants.
Others have also been innovating with solar stills. In 2020, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a free-floating desalination unit consisting of a multilayer evaporator that recycles the heat generated when the water vapor condenses, boosting its overall efficiency.
While field tests are ongoing, it was touted as a technology that could “potentially serve off-grid arid coastal areas to provide an efficient, low-cost water source.” Researchers suggested it could be configured as a floating panel on the sea, delivering freshwater through pipes to the shore, or it could be designed to serve a single household, using it atop a tank of seawater.
Geoff Townsend, who works on innovations in water scarcity for water treatment and hygiene company Ecolab, believes that while solar still innovations are unlikely to replace conventional desalination, they could “supplement existing technology, reducing the overall carbon footprint of desalination.”
But he cautions that “desalination typically needs to provide a very predictable supply of water,” and that “there will be potential concerns on the extent to which diurnal (daily) and seasonal changes in performance could impact the ability to achieve the minimal production requirement.”
An even bigger challenge for this kind of technology is scale. “A drawback is their intrinsic low efficiency,” says Townsend, adding that they tend to take up a lot of space for the small amount of water they produce.
MIT’s device was found to produce around five liters of freshwater per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area. Manhat’s current floating prototype, which covers 2.25 square meters but only has one square meter open to water, produces 1.5 liters of freshwater per day – a drop in the ocean, considering the World Health Organization estimates that an average person needs at least 50 to 100 liters a day to be healthy
Alhassan says Manhat is working to increase this volume to five liters by optimizing materials and design, with the long-term goal of reaching at least 20 liters. The startup has raised $130,000 in funding so far, predominantly via a collaboration with Abu Dhabi Ports, but with increased investment he is confident these targets can be met.
A pilot of the floating farm concept will begin next year. By linking up multiple modular devices in a grid formation, Manhat believes that its current technology could provide enough desalination to grow less water-intensive crops, such as mushrooms, and as the devices improve they could start targeting other crops such as lettuce or tomatoes.
Despite the challenges, Alhassan believes solar stills will one day become an important source of freshwater. “We have to accept the fact that seawater should be a key player in providing freshwater,” he says. “But we need to have a solution that will minimize CO2 emissions and eliminate brine altogether.”
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