Asia Faces “Unprecedented” Water Crisis
SINGAPORE - Developing countries in Asia could face an “unprecedented” water crisis within a decade due to mismanagement of water resources, the Asian Development Bank said in a report on Thursday.
The effects of climate change, rapid industrialization and population growth on water resources could lead to health and social issues that could cost billions of dollars annually, it said.
“If the present unsatisfactory trends continue, in one or two decades, Asian developing countries are likely to face and cope with a crisis on water quality management that is unprecedented in human history,” Ajit Biswas wrote in the report.
The report, entitled “Asian Water Development Outlook,” was submitted to the Asia-Pacific Water Forum in Singapore, which will discuss the issue at a summit in Japan next week.
The report also comes before a U.N. meeting in Indonesia next week to discuss a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
“Water quality management has mostly been a neglected issue in Asian developing member countries. The annual economic cost is likely to be billions of dollars,” Biswas wrote.
The report said massive urbanization will present new types of water-related challenges.
In contrast to cities in developed countries such as Tokyo, developing countries have fallen behind in the collection, treatment, and safe disposal of wastewater, it said.
Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme events like droughts and floods and introduce high levels of risks and uncertainties that the water industry may not be able to handle with confidence, Biswas said.
The report, written by a team of water specialists, covers 12 Asian countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The ADB report recommends major changes in water governance practices in most Asian developing countries, and to look to successful models such as in Singapore and Cambodia which had improved monitoring of water consumption.
The report also called for countries to improve the accessibility of data on water quality.
(Reporting by Daryl Loo, editing by Neil Chatterjee and Sanjeev Miglani)
© 2007 Reuters
Guess they better start having more bottled water from the Coca Cola outfit shipped there from China or South America. What do they charge for that crap in Asia.
Ever notice how the corpgov pollutes the water sources and then make it a product? What is next? Air.
fedayeen, yes: http://www.failedsuccess.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/canned_oxygen_flavored_air/
They charge Rs.32 to 42 per bottle of coke in Pakistan. The laborer makes Rs. 100 to 150 per day. One dollar equals Rs.60.
This is the ONLY commodity in Pakistan that has not gone up in price in the last thirty years. Sugar, flour, cooking oil have gone up 300 percent or more.
Can you see this photo being taken in Atlanta? Any day, now.
Kem Patrick, they pay a lot for bottlrd water in Vietnam and 99% of the people use bottled water. It’s difficult to translate the cost from the value of a Dong to that of a Dollar, but if I did a direct currency value comparison, it would cost on average 25 cents for 1/2 of a liter of water. But compared to what a person earns per day, it’s more like a dollar for a half liter of water - just a rough guess.
Most people boil the tap water before using for cooking, because there is so much chorine in it. But I don’t know how much good boiling would do to eliminate things like arsenic, agent orange, mercury, or even the chorine.
I tell any one who will listen that they should buy a simple water filter for a 30 liter tank. I’ve been running the tap water through this filter for three years and have never experienced any ill effects. If even prevents many viruses from getting through, not to mention bacteria and other large molecules. All you need to do is replace the filter every so often.
It not only is safe, it saves a lot of money and it reduces the amount of plastic garbage.
There is no water crisis in Asia. Only a water harvesting and storage crisis. Without those, yes, you will be in trouble.