Asia Community | Water Knowledge Hub

Hace 2 days Público

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100874
this is an interesting article published on Global Food Security
Revisiting the drought-food insecurity nexus: a social-ecological systems perspective

‪Laith ‬‏ Ali Naji posted in Asia Community

Hace 2 weeks Público

How Smart Tech Is Helping Catch Precious Water That’s Flowing Away

Imagine a huge pipe network under your city, carrying water to people’s homes. Now picture one-third of that water (enough to fill thousands of swimming pools) just vanishing into leaks, theft, or bad bills every year. Fixing leaks with traditional methods can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s costly, slow, and often misses hidden issues. Even worse, analyzing data by hand is error-prone and overly complex for many teams to manage (UNDP).

📖 You can read more and join the discussion in the Community at the UNCCD CLP platform:
👉 https://lnkd.in/egPbpgBF

Here’s where smart, data-powered tools come in (think of them as super-sleuth gadgets for water systems). Two technologies team up to make this happen:

1. Internet of Things (IoT), which is like putting tiny, connected sensors (smart meters) across the water pipes, watching how much flows and how fast, around the clock.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is like teaching a computer to spot unusual patterns—such as pressure dropping in the middle of the night or flow spiking in one spot.

Together, these tools turn data into clues. They help water teams find trouble spots quickly and accurately (without sending field crews everywhere).

UNDP’s Accelerator Lab worked with the startup FlowLess to test this smart system, so it was much cheaper than expensive foreign alternatives and adapted to different local water networks and needs, and the team remained open to feedback and improvements.
📖 You can read more and join the discussion in the Community at the UNCCD CLP platform:
👉 https://lnkd.in/egPbpgBF
Read more:
👉https://lnkd.in/e3h_E-gh
👉https://lnkd.in/eYcKxv4P).

‪Laith ‬‏ Ali Naji posted in Asia Community

Hace 2 weeks Público

How to get portable water in rural areas

Imagine this…
You’re in a barren place. No electricity, no equipment, and no ready-to-drink water. What would you do to secure water with the few resources you have?
Here are some simple, practical ideas:

1- Purifying salty or dirty water with a simple solar still

Find any glass or transparent plastic sheet and a box (preferably a wooden box). put the water inside, and place the sheet at a 30–45° angle on top of the box. The sun will evaporate the water, and it will condense on the sheet. The drops will slide down into a small channel and collect in a clean container.
This can produce around 5–10 liters of clean water per day, depending on the sheet size.

Just remember to clean the sheet from dust and the box bottom from salt deposits.

📖 You can read more and join the discussion in the Community at the UNCCD CLP platform:
👉 https://lnkd.in/egPbpgBF

2- Extracting water from the air
Dig a hole in the ground and place a metal or plastic pipe inside. Let air flow through it. Temperature differences between the ground and the air will cause water vapor to condense inside the pipe.
If you have a small fan powered by wind, you can attach it to increase airflow.

3-Collecting dew and fog using a mesh
Set up a mesh (plastic) in an open area, especially in mountainous or coastal regions. At night, as temperatures drop, water vapor will condense on the mesh and drip into a container or small pipe below.

4- Air well to condense moisture
If you have stones or bricks, arrange them into a small tower or stone chamber with gaps. At night, the stones cool down, and during the day, moist air passing through will condense on them, dripping water to the base.

‪Laith ‬‏ Ali Naji posted in Asia Community

Hace 1 month Público

The Risk of PFAS in Iraq’s Groundwater Amid Drought: Insights from Asia-Pacific Experiences

Because of the ongoing drought, many people in Iraq have no choice but to consume groundwater without realizing the potential risks of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” are a growing global concern due to their persistence in the environment and potential health risks. While many countries are still catching up in addressing PFAS pollution, several Asian countries are taking concrete steps to monitor, regulate, and reduce PFAS in the environment. Asia-Pacific countries are increasingly addressing PFAS ("forever chemicals") through regulations mainly aligned with the Stockholm Convention, which restricts certain PFAS substances such as PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS. Key points include:

1- China, Japan, and South Korea have adopted restrictions on PFAS listed in the Stockholm Convention. China is enhancing broader chemical regulations, including a 2023 List of New Pollutants for Priority Management [1].

2- Japan has been proactive, since 2009, PFOS is regulated as a Class I Specified Chemical Substance, with export restrictions. In 2020, Japan set a drinking water target of 50 ng/L for PFOS and PFOA and banned their manufacture and use [7].

3- Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines have documented widespread PFAS contamination in water, soil, and biota, with ongoing concerns about human and ecosystem health. However, regulatory frameworks remain weak or poorly enforced in many of these countries [5][6].

In Iraq, PFAS pollution is not yet a visible part of water management strategies, and current efforts are limited to occasional workshops for university staff. However, with ongoing drought and increasing reliance on untreated groundwater in urban peripheries, the risk of PFAS contamination in drinking water will only grow. Early action is essential. Drawing from Asia’s experiences, Iraq can consider:
1- Establishing a national PFAS monitoring program, starting with pilot studies in industrial and military areas.
2- Developing laboratory capacity and training for PFAS testing using GC-MS instruments.
3- Including PFAS in national water quality and environmental protection regulations.
4- Collaborating with regional and international partners to develop cost-effective removal and monitoring methods.

Reference

[1] https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/new-regulations-targeting-…
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121004163
[3] https://ipen.org/documents/pfas-pollution-across-middle-east-and-asia
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352801X23000474
[5] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/toxicology/articles/10.3389/ftox.2…
[6] https://ipen.org/news/pfas-situation-reports-twelve-middle-eastern-and-…
[7] https://int.anteagroup.com/news-and-media/blog/pfas-regulation-around-t…
[8] https://www.3eco.com/article/2025-asia-pacific-regulatory-landscape-3e/
[9] https://landandgroundwater.com/global-pfas-regulatory-developments/

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