Desalination in the Pacific

Desalination has traditionally underpinned public water infrastructure in the Middle East and is now an important component of urban water supplies for communities in Asia, Southern Europe, the Americas, and Australia. However, the deployment of this technology in the Pacific at scale has mostly been used to support defense installations, mining operations, and tourist resorts. Drawing on data from more than 60 facilities, this chapter charts the use of seawater desalination as a source of freshwater in the Pacific. Beginning with the first installation of a multistage flash distillation system in 1964 on Hao Atoll, French Polynesia, the chapter summarizes the features of the thermal distillation and reverse osmosis desalination systems deployed in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, as well as the motivation for the projects, institutional arrangements, and current operational status. At present, the utilization of desalination in the Pacific per capita is lower than other countries of comparable gross domestic product (GDP) and water vulnerability as defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). While non-government actors, including sovereign and international development banks have plans to develop desalination facilities, a variety of obstacles prevent the wider distribution of the benefits of this climate-resistant water source. The chapter examines the potential applications of desalination in enabling economic activity, reducing pressure on freshwater resources.