Asia-Pacific Water Forum

Water related Issues in Asia-Pacific

Water related issues that the asia-pacific region faces has been recognized in the regional document (Asia-Pacific) of the 4th World Water Forum held in Mexico City in March 2006. There might be good practices applicable to these issues. We welcome your submission for the good practices to solve the similar issues.

Water related issues in Asia-Pacific

Central Asia

Lack of consideration of environmental demand in current basin water use and conservation master-plans;

Different national priorities concerning joint use and exchange of water and power;

Absence of procedures for coordination among the riparian countries design and construction of the new water infrastructure exerting trans-boundary impacts;

Lack of conflict resolution mechanisms and procedures to recover economic losses due to the breaching of water sharing agreements;

Insufficient information interchange among riparian countries, specifically hydro-meteorological data and forecasts of water availability; and

Lack of policies and programmes for regional economic integration and insufficient co-operation to improve the productivity of irrigated farming on the basis of the model that enables optimizing the differentiation of labor in the region.

Northeast Asia

Water shortages, frequent flooding, water quality issues and governance; and

Soil erosion and water pollution, increasing damages from floods and landslides during heavy rainfall events, decreasing forest cover, declining water supplies due to climate change and the increasing demands for water for irrigation.

South Asia

The region is plagued with a plethora institutions and legislation with overlapping and conflicting mandates relating to water resources management;

Though the region is rich in water resources, access to safe drinking water and quality of water is poor due to the reason that most rivers in their mid and lower reaches are contaminated by point and non point source pollution and occurrence of nitrates, fluorides, heavy metals, and pathogenic agents.

Huge investments made over the past century especially in irrigation projects are not realizing their full potential. Obsolete infrastructure, inflexible irrigation technology, ineffective institutions and management systems and failure to focus on the poor all conspire to retain large irrigation systems at low levels of water productivity denying the benefits owing to society.

Tendency of the poor is to live in flood plains, mountain slopes and arid areas where disasters strike more often. Disasters result in either too much or too little water quite often for periods longer than acceptable while resulting inadequate sanitation causes health problems and epidemics all of which affects the productivity and livelihoods of the poor.

Water pollution due to unplanned urbanization, uncontrolled toxic effluence and waste disposal, and once through processes in industry

A fall in ground water levels and water quality due to over extraction and contamination has increased beyond tolerable levels.

Southeast Asia

The richest ecosystems, biodiversity and water resources in the world and their potentials are being reduced at an alarming rate.

Rapid development has created gaps in the prevention of pollution and the highly dense population in urban centres has converted rivers into open sewers. River water quality has been degraded by sewage, municipal wastewater, industrial effluent that are not fully treated and sediments from land clearance and solid wastes.

The farming communities add on to the pollution with residuals from fertilizers and pesticides and untreated animal wastes.

Communities suffering from inadequate access to water and sanitation facilities have suffered from poor health leading to loss of incomes and opportunities to work.

The apparent lack of appropriate institutional frameworks to adequately address the development and management of water and related land resources in an integrated manner ( Fragmented water resources management and development, Weak water governance include inadequate information on the status of water resources, inequitable water distribution, lack of enabling environment for sustainable water resources management, inadequate mechanisms and incentives for private sector involvement, inadequate participation of stakeholders and inadequate knowledge, understanding and awareness of the values and benefits of water)

The lack of integrated institutional frameworks for water and land development and management, insufficient capital expenditures to meet estimated investment requirements, and lack of effective cost recovery mechanism for sustainable water resources development

Pacific

Unique fragile water resources due to their small size, lack of natural storage and competing land use, vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic hazards, including drought, cyclones and urban pollution.

The lack of both human and financial resource bases, which restrict the availability of experienced staff and investment, and effectiveness of cost-recovery.

High complexity due to the specific socio-political and cultural structures relating to traditional community, tribal and inter-island practices, rights and interests.