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Closing water loops in industry and the reuse of wastewater for irrigation purposes should not only be practiced in industrialised countries but it is extremely important in arid or semi‐arid regions. This paper shows, on the basis of three case studies, the possibilities of environmental protection on the one hand, and the achievement of financial benefits on the other hand by introducing membrane technology. The case studies are about three different fields, in order to describe that the application of membrane technology leads to an effective water treatment, which makes it possible – depending on the application – to recover valuable materials or to provide suitable service water. In the case of combining biological wastewater treatment and membrane technology the potential of reusing municipal wastewater for irrigation purposes will fit the increasing demands in this sector.

In June 1999, the Swiss government made its decision to support the Austrian contingent (AUCON) – serving in the German KFOR Brigade – with the so-called “Swiss Company” (SWISSCOY). This overview offers insight into Swiss soldiers’ motivation during their deployment to Kosovo from October 2001 to April 2002. SWISSCOY is a predominantly unarmed logistical unit integrated into the Austrian KFOR Battalion (AUCON). It supports AUCON primarily in the domains of transportation, water preparation, fuel, and civil-military co-operation. The primary goal of this research project was to monitor the motivation of 130 Swiss soldiers. How motivated were they at the beginning, at half-time, and shortly before the end of their mission? In addition to this descriptive approach, we also aimed at examining crucial independent variables supposedly related to motivation (such as perceived quality of infrastructure, perceived quality of training, financial incentives, social support at home, attractiveness of daily activities, perceived benefit of the mission, etc.).