In a world facing growing challenges related to freshwater scarcity, humanity stands at a crossroads where crucial decisions must be made to ensure the sustainability of this vital resource. Last September, the scientific community sounded an alarm: Earth has crossed the sixth planetary boundary, freshwater. This pressing reality accompanies the need to act urgently and embrace innovative solutions that meet the increasing demand for freshwater.
Planetary Boundaries
The planetary boundaries are crucial frameworks, established by an international team of researchers led by Johan Rockström from the SRC (Stockholm Resilience Centre). They are committed to understanding how Earth’s systems operate and estimate the quantities of natural resources we can consume without compromising our ecosystem. These boundaries define the “normal” constants for harmonious functioning.
There are 9 planetary boundaries:
- Climate change;
- Biosphere integrity;
- Novel entities;
- Land-system change;
- Freshwater change;
- Biochemical flow;
- Ocean acidification;
- Stratospheric ozone depletion;
- Atmospheric aerosol loading.
Today, only the last three have not been crossed.
The sixth planetary boundary: a crucial warning.
A study reveals that freshwater, essential for all forms of life, is in jeopardy. The sixth planetary boundary was breached last September, serveing as a reminder that humanity faces an imminent challenge requiring cutting-edge solutions. In 2022, one of freshwater cycle’s limits had already been surpassed: “green” water. And in 2023, the limit of the “blue” water cycle has been exceeded. “Blue” water constitutes about 40% of freshwater, accounting for precipitation, flowing rapidly in rivers, lakes, and aquifers, while “green” water, the remaining 60%, is stored in soil and biomass, playing a crucial role in the water cycle.
Today, nearly 18% of blue waters and approximately 16% of green water on the planet exhibit variations between wet and dry phases. By comparing these changes with those of the pre-industrial era, when the water cycle had fluctuations of about 10% for blue water and 11% for green water, scientists have observed that the recommended limits from that time (10.2% for blue water and 11.1% for green water) are currently significantly exceeded.
Desalination: a response to the freshwater crisis?
Since the industrial era, overproduction has become the norm, underscoring the need to reconsider our overall relationship with planetary resources. It is imperative to acknowledge the exceeded limits and embrace sustainable solutions to preserve our planet. The surpassing of the sixth planetary boundary for freshwater emphasizes the urgent need for collective action to ensure a viable future. Seawards’s innovative desalination technique provides a clean, economical, and flexible solution to meet the growing demand for freshwater. By employing advanced techniques, desalination emerges as a response to the challenges posed by freshwater scarcity.