5 June, 2024
Tribune by Mr. Fernando Díaz, Infrastructure Director of Incatema
World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June with the theme “Our Lands. Our future”. And it is the future that worries us, and quite a lot, due to the current situation of climate change in which we are immersed. Emerging countries are suffering the most, as the lack of proper water and energy infrastructure is leading to an environmental imbalance, increasing their water stress. Many of these countries are suffering from longer periods of drought, more torrential rains, land desertification, contamination of water resources (rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater), crop failures and flooding due to rising sea levels, among other phenomena.
The main concern in the world in general, and in these countries in particular, is the loss of water resources at a much accelerated rate, which puts at serious risk 40% of the world’s population, living in countries with difficulties in accessing good quality drinking water and lacking of wastewater treatment infrastructures deriving from households, industry, livestock and agriculture.
Some of the actions to try to reduce these risks consist of making an adequate use of natural water resources, the correct treatment of wastewater and to promote the use of renewable energies. These actions to improve water and energy infrastructures have a clear impact on the quality of life of people and the environment.
For this reason, it is necessary to make adequate investments in water infrastructure, both in water supply (supply networks, drinking water treatment plants, desalination plants) and sanitation (sewage networks, wastewater treatment plants), without forgetting the optimisation of crop irrigation methods, avoiding water wastage.
Water quality can be improved by reducing pollution, eliminating discharges, minimising the emission of chemicals and hazardous materials, reducing the percentage of untreated wastewater and significantly increasing recycling and reuse, making efficient use of water resources in all sectors, and ensuring the sustainability of freshwater abstraction and supply.
To optimise the supply of drinking water, a supply network must be designed with sustainable catchments, drinking water treatment plants and distribution networks that put an end to the indiscriminate extraction of water from the subsoil through wells, which deplete reserves and cause pollution of subway aquifers, or through river diversion by offering an alternative route for excess water, which reduce water flow and increase pollution downstream. In this regard, Incatema has been working for 25 years in Africa and Latin America on various water projects. Examples of this are the drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) that we have executed in the Senegalese cities of Foundiougne, Kédougou and Lymodak, or the expansion and modernisation of the Navarrete aqueduct that we are currently implementing in the Dominican Republic, which will improve water quality in seven municipalities.
To avoid contamination by sanitary water, uncontrolled discharges of used water should be avoided, as they cause major contamination of rivers, lakes, groundwater, seas and land where they are discharged. This is achieved by means of a sewage network that collects the sewage and takes it to a treatment plant where it is treated and can be returned to the natural water cycle in optimal conditions of health. An example of this is the Cambérène submarine outfall in Senegal, which completes by natural means the wastewater treatment process of the WWTP located in the same town, both infrastructures developed by Incatema.
Ultimately, the aim is to protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including forests, mountains, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
The other key action to try to decrease these environmental risks is to work towards achieving the SDG 7 (UN Sustainable Development Goals) targets by 2030, for which it is necessary to invest in clean energy sources such as solar, wind and thermal and to improve energy productivity.
Currently, developing countries use almost only fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), which pollute and heat the atmosphere and accelerate the raise of the temperature of the planet. In addition, on many occasions, the supply chain fails, causing a lack of energy for many hours a day, and in villages far from major cities, the energy infrastructure does not reach them, so their inhabitants do not have access to electricity and the quality of life that this entails thus hindering access to education, health care and economic opportunities.
In a world struggling with climate change, clean energy reduces emissions and has the ability to distribute electricity to communities that lack access to energy sources, so we need to apart ourselves from reliance on fossil fuels and invest more in clean, accessible, affordable, sustainable and reliable energy sources.
The connection between clean energy, socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability is crucial to address the problems faced by vulnerable communities around the world.
Renewable energy sources, which are found in abundance in our environment, whether provided by the sun, wind, water, waste or the Earth’s own heat, are renewed by nature itself and emit few (or no) pollutants or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and, by decreasing or eliminating dependence on fossil fuel imports, allow countries to diversify their economies, while boosting inclusive economic growth, creating new jobs and reduce the risks of poverty. Investments in renewable energies will be compensated. The reduction in pollution and negative climate impact alone could save the world up to USD 4.2 trillion.
The initial cost of carrying out all these actions can be daunting for many countries that lack the technical and financial resources to implement them out and can only be achieved through increased international cooperation, providing support to emerging countries.
We must not forget that environmental imbalance in any area of the planet affects us all if we take into account that the climate is globally interconnected, and these lands are our future.