DDRI: Desalination and Development: The Technological Transformation of the Gulf of California in the Face of Climate Change

摘要在城市化的干旱地区提供饮用水是世界范围内的一项严峻挑战。南下加利福尼亚州(BCS)位于墨西哥最干旱的地区，那里的地下水供应不足以满足需求。海水淡化？将咸水转化为饮用水提供了潜在的无限供应，并正在成为BCS的首选强化策略。虽然海水淡化可以减少一些脆弱性(例如，未来的供水)，但它可能会增加其他脆弱性(例如，公平、可负担性、环境影响和能源需求)。将在BCS的两个研究地点(Los Cabos和La Paz)进行为期9个月的研究，使用半结构化访谈、重点小组、家庭调查和对次要数据进行时间序列分析。意义和更广泛的影响现有的研究得出结论，虽然大型水利基础设施项目(如大坝)促进了经济发展，但它们通常会导致不公平的社会结果和负面的环境影响。这项研究考察了海水淡化这一相对较新的水基础设施技术是如何通过将海水淡化作为应对增长和气候变化的适应性管理战略来改变社会和环境关系的，这项研究将阐明技术如何能够缓解或加剧水资源短缺的脆弱性。它还强调了适应行动所涉及的决策和监管进程。这项研究解决了在了解海水淡化技术的社会和环境后果方面的一个重要差距。这种以政策为导向的办法将为考虑采用海水淡化技术的水资源管理人员和决策者制定一套最佳管理做法。

SummaryThe provision of potable water in urbanizing arid regions is a critical challenge worldwide. The state of Baja California Sur (BCS) is located in Mexico's most arid region where groundwater supplies are insufficient to meet demands. Desalination?the conversion of saline water into potable water offers a potentially limitless supply and is becoming the preferred augmentation strategy in BCS. While desalination can reduce some vulnerabilities (e.g., future water supply), it may increase others (e.g., equity, affordability, environmental impacts, and energy demands). Research will be carried out over a 9-month period in two research sites in BCS (Los Cabos and La Paz), using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, household surveys, and a time-series analysis of secondary data. Significance & broader impactExisting research concludes that while large-scale water infrastructure projects (e.g., dams) have facilitated economic development, they have typically resulted in inequitable social outcomes and negative environmental impacts. This research examines how desalination, a relatively new water infrastructure technology, transforms and is transformed by social and environmental relations By framing desalination as an adaptive management strategy for dealing with growth and climate change, this research will illuminate how technology can alleviate or exacerbate vulnerability to water scarcity. It also highlights the decision-making and regulatory processes involved in adaptation actions. The study addresses an important gap in the understanding of the social and environmental consequences of desalination technology. The policy-oriented approach will develop a set of best management practices for water managers and decision-makers considering the adoption of desalination technology.