Unconventional Water Resources

Introduction.- Unconventional water resources as a response to global water scarcity and contribution to food, ecosystems, and sustainable development.- Rain enhancement through cloud seeding (Ali Abshaev, Hail Suppression Research Center, Nalchik, Russia).- Fog water harvesting (Jamila Bargach, Dar Si Hmad Project, Sidi Ifni, Morocco).- Micro-catchment rainwater harvesting (Theib Oweis, International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, ICARDA, Jordan).- Offshore water (Mark Person, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, USA).- Onshore deep groundwater (Mark Person, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, USA).- Municipal wastewater (Birguy Lamizana, United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya).- Agricultural drainage water (J.D. Oster, University of California, Riverside, USA).- Water transportation through icebergs towing (Nicholas Sloane, Resolve Marine Group, South Africa).- Ballast water held in tanks and cargo holds of ships (Marlos De Souza, FAO).- Desalinated water (Nikolay Voutchkov, Desalination Technologies Research Institute, Saline Water Conversion Corporation, SWCC, Jubail, Saudi Arabia).- Governance, policies, and institutional and human capacity (Renée Martin-Nagle, A Ripple Effect PLC, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, USA).- Social and environmental tradeoffs (TBC).- Economics and innovative financing mechanisms in a circular economy (Francesc Hernández-Sancho, University of Valencia, Spain; Edeltraud Guenther, UNU-FLORES).- Way forward to harness the potential of unconventional water resources.

Manzoor Qadir is an environmental scientist working on water-related sustainable development through contribution to policy, institutional and biophysical aspects of unconventional water resources, water recycling and safe reuse, water quality and environmental health, and water and food security under changing climate. Manzoor has led teams of eminent professionals as Coordinating Lead Author to contribute to global assessments, such as the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, and the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. He has implemented multidisciplinary projects on water and land management with major work in the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa regions. In addition to supervising post-doctoral fellows, postgraduate students, and interns, he has undertaken several international and regional capacity development initiatives such as organizing knowledge bridging workshops and training courses for young researchers. Before joining United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) in Canada, Manzoor previously held professional positions at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow and Visiting Professor at Justus-Liebig University, Germany; and Associate Professor at the University of Agriculture, Pakistan.
Vladimir Smakhtin has over 35 years of experience as a Researcher and Manager in the broad area of water resources. He holds a Ph.D. in hydrology and water resources from the Russian Academy of Sciences. He worked at Rhodes University and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, and as a research program director at IWMI headquartered in Sri Lanka. His experience spreads across agricultural and environmental water management, low-flow and drought analyses, assessment of