High-science in low-tech emergency settings: a foreseeable horizon or height of folly

Excerpt: Growing populations and the associated environmental pressures are setting the stage for rapid development in water- and wastewater-related technologies (e.g. nanotechnologies, membrane science, analytical methods, etc.) which are capable of delivering cleaner drinking water, improving wastewater treatment (i.e. sanitation), and providing cheaper and better sensors for contaminant detection/monitoring. Such developments have been fuelled by incentives from governments, research councils, and private sector. Yet, the benefits of these cutting-edge solutions to the growing environmental challenges being faced are likely to only be felt by those in richer nations.

Link: http://www.elrha.org/uploads/Final%20ELRHA%20Report-%20Glasgow-Oxfam.pdf