Water From Fog on Cape Verde
Morning fog rolls in over the island community of Serra Malagueta, Cape Verde, and with it comes welcomed relief: drinkable water.
Water shortages on the island nation are nothing new. With the majority of the country’s drinking water coming from desalinization, rainwater collection, or a few safe ground wells, Cape Verde has long struggled with water shortages.
But, for the 100,000 residents of Serra Malagueta, the fog offers a novel alternative. Window sized collection nets and screens dot the community’s outskirts, capturing fog and turning it into much needed drinking water. Without the nets, the community would be entirely reliant on trucked-in water from other communities.
As the dry season approaches, the collection nets will feed water into holding tanks – helping alleviate the water stress.
According to the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 25% of the Cape Verdean population is threaten by water shortages each year.
Read more here
Source: IRIN/UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Circle of Blue’s east coast correspondent based in New York. He specializes on water conflict and the water-food-energy nexus. He previously worked as a political risk analyst covering equatorial Africa’s energy sector, and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. Contact: Cody.Pope@circleofblue.org
This tackles a very difficult problem of meeting ever greater water needs and does so at a time where it is more important than ever to reduce carbon emmissions, its sustainable and effective and doesn’t cost the earth.