Desalination is one of the most important responses to global water challenges. Decision-making on where, how and why to develop desalination plants must focus more on addressing social issues, such as universal access, justice and sustainability.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$99.00 per year
only $8.25 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
UNESCO World Water Assessment Program. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water (UNESCO, 2023).
He, C. et al. Nat. Commun. 12, 4667 (2021).
Goergen, R. The future of desalination. Geographical https://geographical.co.uk/science-environment/the-future-of-desalination (2 August 2022).
Water desalination market size to hit USD 29.1 billion 2030. Adroit Market Research https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/10/28/2543706/0/en/Water-Desalination-Market-Size-to-hit-USD-29-1-billion-2030-Key-Companies-Price-Trends-PESTEL-Analysis-Growth-Opportunities-Demand-Key-Leaders-and-Future-Business-Plan-Adroit-Marke.html (2022).
Williams, J. Water Altern. 15, 193–217 (2022).
Williams, J. Geoforum 93, 32–39 (2018).
O’Neill, B. F. Environ. Plann. E 6, 1366–1390 (2023).
O’Neill, B. F. Capit. Nat. Social. 34, 107–128 (2023).
Carley, S. & Konisky, D. M. Nat. Energy 5, 569–577 (2020).
Hickel, J. et al. Nature 612, 400–403 (2022).
Jones, E., Qadir, M., van Vliet, M. T. H., Smakhtin, V. & Kang, S. Sci. Total Environ. 657, 1343–1356 (2019).
Gleick, P. H. Nature 418, 373–373 (2002).
Gleick, P. H. Nat. Water 1, 486–487 (2023).
Acknowledgements
The writing of this piece was supported in part by the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center at the University of Washington.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O’Neill, B.F., Williams, J. Developments in desalination need a social sciences perspective. Nat Water 1, 994–995 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00161-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00161-x