Water resource management using geothermal energy: Eritrea

摘要

Eritrea is a country with rich gold, silver and base-metal deposits and geothermal energy resources associated with all the five volcanoes located within the Danakil graben. Due to low rainfall, the country has to depend on imported food and food imports have crossed 46% in the recent years. Although the cultivable land is about 16,000km(2), only 5030km(2) land is being cultivated due to insufficient water resources. The per capita water requirement is projected to fall below 1300m(3)/year from the present 1470m(3)/year. The country's GDP has fallen from 1.3% in 2013 to 0.3% in 2015. Each geothermal province associated with the active volcanoes can support to generate 445 millionm(3) of desalinated water from the Red Sea. Providing basic needs like water and energy will boost the country's economy and lift the socio-economic status of 6 million people in the country.