Water Security in South Asia

Running Head: WATER SECURITY IN SOUTH ASIA 1
Water security in South Asia
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WATER SECURITY IN SOUTH ASIA 2
Asia suffers problems of water scarcity leading to a profound effect on the region’s
security. Despite the place being home for almost half the world's population, it has problems
with water insecurities amounting to 3,920m3 per year per person. Its population is expected to
increase up to 500million in the next 10 years’ time while consistency in rural population is
maintained. As a result, the cascade of impacts extends to economic instabilities, large-scale
migrations across and within neighboring countries, impaired production of food and a
significant increase in geopolitical and economic tensions. A report from the new Asia Society
Leadership Group, therefore, recommended a comprehensive policy strategy that will help the
state to avert the consequences.
A significant increase in the population is directly proportional to the much tension in the
water resources accompanied by climate change. Based on these, there is much need for water
security approaches to facilitate a reliable amount of water for livelihood, health, and
productions in line with acceptable risks related to water. Problems related to water are directed
to poor governance related to the inability of the state's economy to sustain their current dynamic
of growth. The Asian- Pacific regions experience issues with managing and securing the prime
resources of water. On the other side, the demand for water used in irrigation has contributed to
the extensive water scarcity in the region as per a report from the IIASA water program’s deputy
director, Yoshihide Wada. He also stressed that the rate of depletion of groundwater was
alarming when the current practices of water use never showed sustainability for the future
(Mukherjee, 2018).
The Mekong River passes through Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar
that form the Southeast Asian Nation members and the LMC. The river then drains to the South

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China Sea forming a vast economic resource for the area (Asian Development Bank, 2016). The
basin in the Mekong is among the globes fertile regions thus provides a platform for agriculture
and fishing that fosters livelihood for the settlers (Munia, Guillaume, Mirumachi, Porkka, Wada
& Kummu, 2016). The lower Mekong basin nurtures approximately 60 million individuals hence
control of the waterway will pose significant restrictions to Southeast Asia's economy. However,
conflicts have arisen regarding the ownership of different portions of the water resource that
could act as the biggest china's and Asian's flashpoint after the South China Sea. The
construction of hydropower plants and big dams by the Chinese government led to the
destruction of the river's ecosystem hence posing a big threat to the million's existence (Munia,
Guillaume, Mirumachi, Porkka, Wada & Kummu, 2016).
The change in the natural flow of the river was accompanied by floods, blocks in sediment
transport and drought for downstream societies. These were per the report from Thailand’s
coordinator for environmental pressure group internal rivers, Pianporn Deetes. Studies done by
the (IIASA), Australia-based international institute for applied system analysis, give an
estimation of up to almost 3.4 billion individuals who could be residing in water-stressed regions
by 2050. Most of the countries in the region were also vulnerable to less-freshwater issues by the
same year. These included India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Singapore clearly showing
the need for water security policies to curb the associated effects.
Agriculture in the regions accounts for up to 80% of the total water consumption in
which it’s increased demands and that of the population at large poses a more precarious state for
the finite water sources. Currently, approximately 1.7 billion are exposed to poor sanitation
conditions thus a daunting issue is meeting the desired demands for energy, industrial and