Serving Noble Causes by Rachid Ghamraoui, IDRA First Vice President
Serving noble causes, in particular with water, requires engagement, commitment and dedication.
The real question is, “Are we serving this cause in an effective way, fast enough and with a long-term vision?”
Fast enough, the answer is probably no: the world is changing rapidly, and it’s well known that natural water resources and water production are not following the same pace. Population growth – particularly in the megacities, the change of lifestyle and the lack of proper water management are creating significant water scarcity in many regions of the world.
Climate change and the ongoing drought in California, South Africa and many other regions contribute to this water scarcity and put pressure onthe water community to act. Some experts declare that around 25% of the population today does not have proper access to potable water near their home or on a continuous basis, leading to the question, “Is it normal in the twenty-first century?” The same experts are expecting this number to increase to 30 or 40% in the coming decades due to population growth.
I am still optimistic and believe there is a solution because there is a will to create one.
We, as members of the water community and IDRA, in particular, have a duty, responsibility and obligation to do more and do it faster to address this water scarcity problem. IDRA, as a wellestablished organization, and under the new leadership of our president Miguel Angel Sanz, the very prominent Board of Directors, our talented members and the newly appointed and very active Secretary General, Shannon McCarthy, have committed to fulfill our responsibility about water scarcity and to minimize the impact of this growing problem with action.
IDRA’s new and robust resolution is to focus its efforts on conducting relevant technical events and on drawing up suitable strategies, alliances and solutions to come up with ways to meet future demand.
The point is that we need to act now and collectively to change our fundamental relationship with water. Nowadays – and despite the connected world and high-speed communication network – information and technology are still not adequately shared.
I invite my fellow IDRA directors, IDRA members and the water community at large to use those communications tools and the power of social media to share the knowledge.
Three years ago, IDRA actively incorporated water reuse in its strategic vision and mission by first advancing awareness of this valuable low-cost water source and motivating all stakeholders, public authorities, technology providers and developers to enhance their existing plants and implement water reuse technology in their future projects.
With its new vision of “making every drop count,” IDRA has put water reuse as one of its top priorities.
I take this opportunity to invite all of you to attend the 2018 IDRA International Water Reuse and Recycling Conference organized in collaboration with our Spanish Affiliate AEDyR, with the support of our European Affiliate EDS, to be held June 24-27 in the beautiful city of Valencia, Spain.
We are “connecting people and ideas to water solutions” to build stronger collaboration and alliances with international finance and development organizations like the World Bank, IADB, FAO and other UN agencies.
The help of IDRA sponsors, IDRA’s Board of Directors and members will undoubtedly be the required added value that will make the difference in achieving the targeted goal to “improve water availability.”