Task Team on Harmful Algae and Desalination of Seawater
Terms of Reference:
- Assess and stimulate interest within the HAB and desalination communities for special HAB sessions or satellite workshops during regular international desalination conferences. The objective would be to:
- Review the current state of knowledge on the impact of HABs on desalination plants and other facilities that utilize large volumes of seawater in commercial, agricultural, or industrial applications,
- Highlight new ocean observing technologies as well as the engineering and operational strategies that are used, or could be used to detect, forecast, and mitigate the impact of HABs and other planktonic threats to desalination facilities,
- Review current thinking of the trends in HAB occurrences as impacted by climate change and major anthropogenic factors,
- Formulate a proposal for a joint FAO WHO water safety risk assessment (or what available data allow) for toxins in drinking water coming from desalination plants, working closely with the appropriate FAO division, including on aspects of chronic, low-level toxicity,
- In the context of HABs being detrimental to water security (either to public health or to freshwater production procedures), seek cooperation with the FAO Land and Water Division for support to evaluate the increased needs for freshwater production through desalination for both secure drinking water and freshwater for agricultural use,
- In coordination with the IPHAB Task Team on Early Warning Systems for HABs, explore opportunities to work with the desalination industry and its academic partners to communicate and implement capabilities for HAB early warning systems through scientific presentations, workshops, pilot projects, or other joint activities,
- Engage with desalination plant operators, drinking water suppliers and authorities managing water supplies for agricultural uses on the potential impacts of HABs on the capacity for desalination to provide adequate freshwater supplies under a range of climate scenarios including increased periods of drought,
- When appropriate, provide newsworthy articles on HABs and desalination for publication in Harmful Algae News,
- Invites WHO and ROPME to nominate a representative to participate in the Task Team,
Decides also that the Task Team will be comprised of D. Anderson (USA) chair, M. Wells (PICES), P. Hess (France), B. Karlson (Sweden), A. Bennouna (Morocco), E. Jamali, and H. Ali Saeed Bin Subaih Al Ali (United Arab Emirates). The Task Team is supplemented by expert M-Y Dechraoui Bottein (Morocco), and may be expanded as required to fulfill the terms of reference;
Invites FAO to co-sponsor the Task Team,
Notes that the Task Team will continue its work until otherwise decided by the Panel and that it will work by correspondence and/or meet on an opportunistic basis, and provide a progress report to the Chair of IPHAB prior to IPHAB-XVII.
Contact:
Donald M. Anderson, Senior Scientist, Biology Department and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Director, Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region (CINAR), danderson@whoi.edu
