Membrane Technology and Engineering for Water Purification, 2nd Edition

Preface Two

“Overcoming the crisis in water and sanitation is one of the greatest human development challenges of the early 21st century,” according to a recent U.N. report. About one in every six people today do not have sufficient access to clean drinking water. More than 1.2 billion people live in areas of water scarcity; rivers are drying up, groundwater levels are declining rapidly, freshwater fisheries are being damaged, and salinisation and water pollution are increasing (1). As a result, 2.2 million deaths per year are related to water/hygiene and public health; many of these are children. Such problems are forecast to grow worse, with more than half the world’s population facing chronic to critical water shortages by 2050, limiting ...