Smart Specialisation in the Context of Blue Economy – Analysis of Desalination Sector

Description

The Blue Economic activities represent an essential component of the European Green Deal activities in the regions and Member States by safeguarding healthy oceans, seas, and waters. One of the emerging blue economy sectors with considerable “greening” potential for a stable water supply in the ever-growing areas with increasing water imbalances is the desalination sector. Besides its essential role in providing water in the areas suffering water shortages, the sector has the potential for creating prosperity and employment in some territories of Europe through a combination of innovation-based sustainable water, energy and chemical technologies, coupled with environmental and societal challenges.

This report aims at analysing the sector from the innovation, the EU policy and regional perspectives - in the latter with examples of implementation of desalination technologies in the three types of regions with specific water supply issues across Europe. Examples are provided in the water-scarce regions of the Southern Europe, in European Western and Northern regions, and in the particular case of island regions, where a stable water supply through desalination improves the living conditions and local economy substantially. Overall, the desalination sector provides a sustainable solution for agro-food systems and integrated water provision and management in the water-scarce areas, makes those often vulnerable territories more climate-resilient, efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally and socially sustainable, and contributes to climate adaptation by solving the water scarcity, food security, soil health by enhancing rainwater infiltration and water reuse, nutrition, health and well-being of the population in these areas. Given the increasing climate change pressures, a holistic approach to addressing global freshwater scarcity through sustainable and innovative solutions is needed. The sector of desalination will be granted increasing protagonism in the endeavours to enhance territorial resilience, improve ecosystem services, biodiversity and a more sustainable agricultural production in Europe and beyond.

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