The International Desalination Association (IDA) has announced the first event of its kind in the North Africa region, a conference on desalination and sustainability in partnership with the Societé Marocaine des Membranes et de Dessalement (SMMD).

To be held in Casablanca on 1-2 March 2012, the IDA-SMMD International Conference on Desalination & Sustainability is supported by the Office National de l’Eau Potable, Office Chérifien des Phosphates and several ministries.

Following other North African countries like Tunisia and Algeria, Morocco plans to implement new desalination plants for industrial, municipal and agricultural uses to secure the water supply in specific areas for sustainable development in the agricultural and phosphate industies.

The purpose of this conference is to fuse international experiences with regional needs and strategies in addition to sharing information on the latest desalination technologies. This assembly will also allow desalination experts in Morocco to interact with vital desalination suppliers both locally and internationally.

The conference will cover Desalination Costs; Use in Agriculture, Industry, Tourism & Potable Supply; Water Plans; Energy Efficiency; Renewable Energies in Desalination; Mediterranean and MENA Experiences; Future Trends in Desalination Equipment; Desalination and the Environment; Innovation in Membranes; Pretreatment and Post-treatment.

The venue will be Le Royal Mansour Méridien. Registration and other event information will be available soon. Sponsorship information is available from Beth Bodo of IDA at bbodo@idadesal.org.