The World Assembly,
Observing that desalination is used by several member nations as a method of obtaining fresh water for their people;
Acknowledging that when used in an environmentally-safe manner, desalination is a very effective method for providing potable water to freshwater deficient member nations with access to saltwater;
Aware that improperly managed desalination can lead to irreversible environmental damage, such as release of highly concentrated pollutants into the environment or possible contamination of natural freshwater sources with salt;
Hoping to prevent these negative environmental impacts, while continuing to enable the use of desalination as a way to obtain potable water;
Hereby:
- Defines, for the purposes of this resolution, “desalination” as the process of obtaining freshwater from saltwater through one or more purification methods;
- Requires member nations to dispose of any waste products from the desalination process in a manner that does not pose a significant degree of threat to any natural environment;
- Encourages member nations to research and, when possible, utilize a combination of desalination and salt-recovery for industrial and commercial use;
- Mandates that desalination plants and their operations must not cause irreversible damages to any ecosystem, and that effective environmental damage mitigation plans are in place to be enacted in the case of an accident;
- Urges member nations with access to large quantities of saltwater to use desalination as a new source of water, instead of tapping into pristine freshwater reserves;
- Encourages member nations to adopt energy-efficient strategies for desalination, and if possible, use renewable energy during the process of desalination;
- Clarifies that nothing in this resolution discourages the use of other methods of alleviating water shortage, such as water use reduction policies.
Co-authored by Kenmoria