Masdar-led Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance and IOWater partner to improve global water security

The Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance (GCWDA) has entered into a partnership with the International Office for Water (IOWater), a France-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving global water resource management.

 The collaboration was signed the January 16th, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2019, which is exploring water as one of its six key pillars.

The new partnership between GCWDA and IOWater will explore solutions that encourage better stewardship of water resources and help mitigate climate change, and further promote opportunities in clean energy water desalination.  

 “Masdar is proud to be a founding member of the GCWDA and committed to addressing the challenges of water sustainability. We hope to leverage the experience and technical skills of IOWater to build on the progress made in improving access to clean and safe water supplies in water-stressed communities around the world since the alliance was established at the UN Climate Summit in Paris in 2015,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO, Masdar.

Under the terms of the agreement, a trust fund will be set up to support approved activities and projects. The fund will be overseen by both parties and managed by IOWater. It will also welcome contributions from organisations and people who wish to support the vision of the alliance to reduce the carbon footprint of water.

Dr Tardieu said: “IOWAter is attentive to the growing importance of non-conventional water resources such as desalination; sound management of water resources necessitates innovative and clean approaches in order to sustainably integrate these solutions and to reconcile generalized access to clean water, economic development and mitigation measures for the water sector. This new partnership with GCWDA will help promote and disseminate this new ambition, and integrate clean water desalination in the water strategies of cities, basin organizations or countries.”

The GCWDA was launched at the UN Climate Summit (COP 21) in Paris in 2015. Organised under the Lima Paris Action Plan (LPAA), the GCWDA is dedicated to reducing global carbon dioxide emissions and improving water resource management in the desalination industry.

The alliance focuses on four key areas: clean energy supply for desalination plants; energy efficiency, systems integration and demand response; research, development and demonstration; and education, training and outreach. The GCWDA currently has 176 members from 38 countries and 6 continents.

IOWater is a non-profit organisation involved in capacity building for better water management worldwide. The organisation’s expertise covers the entire water cycle, from the management of water and sanitation services to resource management, via training, technical assistance, data management activities, or the facilitation of global networks.

Dr Alexander Ritschel, Chair of the Board of GCWDA and Head of Technology, Asset Management and Technical Services at Masdar,

and Dr Eric Tardieu, Director-General of IOWater, signing the agreement at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2019.