Bridging technology and justice: reconsidering reverse osmosis for just and sustainable water systems in coastal Bangladesh

Salinity intrusion in coastal Bangladesh has reduced the reliability of conventional drinking-water sources and encouraged the expansion of reverse osmosis (RO) systems. We examine RO here not simply as a desalination infrastructure but as a socio-technical water service whose outcomes depend on access, governance, energy, infrastructure, and environmental management. Direct non-participant field observations were undertaken in April-May 2025 and March-April 2026 across Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat, which were documented through location-specific photographs and the researcher’s personal retrospective memories arranged around access and affordability, functionality and maintenance, gendered challenges, energy resilience, and environmental risks. These observations are interpreted through water-justice and socio-technical transitions perspectives. Justice is operationalized as distributive justice (who receives benefits and bears costs), procedural justice (who participates in decisions and accountability), and recognition justice (whether differentiated needs are acknowledged). The evidence shows that RO can provide valuable potable water, but benefits are constrained by distance and user costs, seasonal shifts between rainwater and RO, weak lifecycle maintenance, private or project-dependent management, grid-electricity vulnerability, and poorly governed concentrate disposal. A Justice-Centred Climate-Resilient Desalination Framework (JCCRDF) has been proposed that links technological sustainability, institutional and governance capacity, justice and social inclusion, environmental responsibility, and climate-resilient energy systems, supported by capacity building, information systems, policy coherence, transparency, and adaptive learning. RO can contribute to climate-resilient water security only when technological performance is coupled with institutions that secure equitable, accountable, and environmentally responsible service over time.