America
Fraser-Athabasca connection
A canal dug between the Fraser and Athabasca could increase the economy in this area.
Athabasca-Churchill connection
A canal dug between the Athabasca and Churchill could increase the economy in this area.
Rio Teles Pires-Paraguay connection
A canal dug between the Rio Teles Pires and Paraguay could increase the economy in this area.
Rio Grande-São Francisco connection
A canal dug between the Rio Grande and São Francisco could increase the economy in this area.
Europe
Rhine-Donau connection
A canal dug between the Rhine and Donau could increase the economy in this area.
Loire-Rhône connection
A canal dug between the Loire and Rhône could increase the economy in this area.
Meuse-Saône connection
A canal dug between the Meuse and Saône could increase the economy in this area.
Asia
Red sea canal
Farakka dam &; Indian logging
The construction of (a) certain Indian dam(s) has led to desertification of Bangladesh . This effect is very great, especially in the dry season. A solution could probably be found; ie by using a temporary water store, by allowing some water flow during the dry season, ... It seems that the Tipaimukh dam is also having similar protest, not sure whether the effect of this dam is that great however (reference 1, reference 2)
In addition, the logging of trees in the indian part of the Himalaya is causing a large buildup of silt; this prohibits (or makes it harder) for the water to pass trough to Bangladesh.
"Turkish" dams
In the Euphrates and Khabur rivers, dams (which?) are placed that create a water shortage for both Syria and Irak.
China's damming of Brahmaputra
China is planning to divert water from the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo, north of the McMahon Line. The dam would be called the Shuotian Canal.
http://tibetanplateau.blogspot.com/2010/05/damming-tibets-yarlung-tsangpo.html Aldough the project is not necessairily bad, it is not exactly known how much water will be drawn, hereby possible negatively influencing India.
Oka-Desna connection
A canal dug between the Oka and Desna could increase the economy in this area.
Nizhnyaya Tunguska-Lena
A canal dug between the Lena and Nizhnyaya Tunguska could increase the economy in this area.
Lena-Baikal lake connection
A canal dug between the Lena and Baikal lake could increase the economy in this area. Since there can be differences in salinity however (the Baikal lake is a freshwater lake), the locks need to be made in such a way that there is no transfer of water between the river and lake.
Tuul-Cherlen connection
A canal dug between the Tuul and Cherlen could increase the economy in this area.
Irawaddy, Salween, Mekong connection
A canal dug between the Irawaddy, Salween, and Mekong could increase the economy in this area.
Mekong-Yangtze connection
A canal dug between the Mekong and the Yangtze could increase the economy in this area.
Sutley-Jamuna connection
A canal dug between the Sutley and the Jamuna could increase the economy in this area.
Africa
Bomou-Bahr_el_Ghazal connection
Already, a connection exists between the Nile and the Kongo-river (via the Kongo river-Lukuga-Lake_Tanganyika-Lake_Kivu-Lake_Edward-Lake_Albert). However, the proposed connection will decrease boating time, and will also hook up better to the proposed cross-connection Sebou-Niger (allowing boating across the interior of west-africa).
Sebou-Niger connection
A connection between Sebou and the Niger would require the connecting of several rivers. These include:
* Hadejia-Sokoto
* Tafassasset-Irharhar-Tidikelt
Lake Chad replenishing
Lake Chad has been reduced by 95% since 1975 DC. As such, it needs to be replenished with this amount of water very soon, to prevent desertification, ... of the area.
Jonglei diversion canal and Wadi connection
In the intrest of reducing the problems in Darfur, aswell as in other Sudanese area's, a better economic system might be useful. This could be done by completing the Jonglei diversion canal. This as one of the main reason for Sudan's low wealth is the absence of water for irrigation of crops and to sustain life in the surroundings. As such, the incompletion of the Jonglei diversion canal has in the past contributed to not being able to move forward. An additional suggestion is the connecting of the 2 wadi's in Darfur (near Malha; notably Wadi Howar and Wadi El Milk). This could increase economic prosperity and decrease the desertification. These projects would have much more effect than what the humanitarian organisations are doing in Darfur. The Egyptians could help in the financial continuation of the projects as they reduce evaporation of the Nile(which too is in the intrest of Egypt). Also, together with the digging of wells and the connection channel east of Malha, population control should be placed, to prevent the population of growing even further.
Oceania
Murray river disconnection
The plan to divert the murray river inland and break the connection with the sea must be continued. This could halt the salination which is now on the rise and increases water availability for Adelaide. Some research to the consequences for Encounter Bay should also be done. See this reference and this image
References:
Running Dry: The humanitarian impact of the global water crisis
Water wars by Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke
Water: the fate of our most precious resource by Marq de Villiers
Note: some Bonifica Transaqua ideas could possibly also be useful
Note
The suggestions above would accompany a new boat design to allow people to affordably make use of the new waterways; this boat design is available at http://www.appropedia.org/Low_cost_catamaran . Note also that precautions need to be taken, as mentioned above, to prevent damage to marine species. Please take a look at http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1phwyAZXfIIiKBM1o7hipOgYz9k5zYyjwpE_NlJNd0WU to understand the dangers on this. Obviously these need to be avoided. Finally, the canals themselves need to be constructed as simple as possible to reduce the costs, see http://www.appropedia.org/Building_canals
DESERTEC/Seawater greenhouse project
These project can be quite cost-effective as they revitalise the environment, hereby reducing climate change, increases agriculture, ... It might also be beneficial to the developed countries, to supply renewable energy at moments where little power can be generated (see http://www.appropedia.org/Appropriate_living_manual_2#Grid_energy ). This extra benefit would however only be provided in case the energy lines are extended to the developed countries (ie Europe, ...), something which of course is best done after the local energy distribution is set-up. Thus, the benefit would only come with some delay, and the question remains whether the energy is (atleast for the time being) not better produced using (local) nuclear power plants in the Northern countries. See also: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcwtr665_285cjvh86zk
Improvement of Libya's Great Man Made River
See https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1elhymF1EaTErToKOM4eAL3XgHsD99uKJ91BfORtuSzo
Project Kaisei with plastics recovery
Project Kaisei + plastics recovery can be a very cost-efficient project as it cleans up the litter dumped in the oceans (this litter decreases fish regeneration and the project would also reclaim a great amount of plastics for reuse. See http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcwtr665_287cchr33dt
Google Earth abandoned ship search
The mapping out of the abandoned ships at sea, so that they can be collected and recycled would provide significant environmental and economic benefit and could provide employment for people in the developing world. See http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcwtr665_288gbc5r4w3
Google Earth roads layer
Instant recognition of the roads that need to be removed from the landscape (allot are redundant and only create another obstacle for wildlife, and complicate the road-network, and make traffic less smooth (see: the Braess paradox) should need to be made (freely) available. This can be done by making a new sublayer in Google Earth (Google Earth already contains a roads-layer, however there are still no sublayers "essential roads" or "redundant roads").
Afforestation projects
For cost-effective afforestations to be set-up, one needs to focus on both the suitability for growing trees (water availability, soil quality, ...), aswell as the possibility of housing for the workers. Presence of both is critical to ensure the set-up of a cost-effective project. Finally, the project needs to be well organised (ie regarding the treespecies used), ... See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_town
Some cost-effective afforestation (CDM A/R ?) projects could be:
- Ilha dos Tigres (bric-building ghost town). This town is especially useful as it lies in a zone which is ideally suited for ecologic projects (mentioned in the 'Unknown Africa-Angola' documentary; see http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=1499259 )
- Goma (DR Congo). Goma is safe again now that the vulcano eruption has passed. See http://us-africa.tripod.com/news.html
- Many other sturdy (bric-building) ghost towns are present in Northern Africa. Examples are towns as Chinguetti (Mali).
Other projects
Other projects that facilitate a move to a sustainable society would also be cost-effective. See
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwtr665_9d8pdwh (Climate change and economy)
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwtr665_4ds2cq7 (increased environmental advantage)
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dcwtr665_5hdz48t (globalisation and increased urban efficiency)
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwtr665_164g68j2h (transport)
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwtr665_14324vr6 (political reform)
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwtr665_162gcnskt (education reform)
