| Water is a vital resource, but millions of people do not have access to clean water resources and experience water shortages. The overwhelming majority of them live in Asia and the Pacific, despite high levels of total water consumption in the region.
Domestic water withdrawal per capita in Asia and the Pacific is nearly 49 cubic metres per year, which places the region ahead of Africa, at 31, but behind Latin America and the Caribbean, at 98. North America has the highest level of domestic water use per capita at 221, while Europe is a more efficient user of water, at 86 cubic metres per capita.
Figure 26.1 Domestic water withdrawal per capita in the regions of the world, 2000
Within the Asian and Pacific region, there is
a broad range of water withdrawal levels for
domestic use. Central Asia withdraws 98 cubic
metres per capita while the SAARC and ASEAN
regions have similar annual per capita withdrawal
levels, at 42 and 41 cubic metres, respectively. Highincome
countries use more than three times as much
water as low- and middle-income countries, which
withdraw similar amounts of water per capita for
domestic use, at 44 and 43 cubic metres.
Armenia has an annual per capita water withdrawal level of 286 cubic metres, which is nearly six times as much as the regional average. Four of the five developing countries with the highest levels of per capita water withdrawal for domestic use are in Central Asia, and three are also landlocked countries. The three countries with the lowest level of per capita water withdrawal for domestic use are Cambodia, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.
Of the 10 countries with the highest amounts of water withdrawal as a proportion of total renewable water, 6 are in Central Asia, and 7 of them are landlocked countries. Seven of these countries withdraw more than 40 per cent of the renewable water resources, indicating severe stress on their water resources (ESCAP, 2005b).
Figure 26.2 The 10 Asian and Pacific countries/areas with highest proportion of water withdrawal in relation to total renewable water, 1998-2002
The Asian and Pacific region is home to more than 60 per cent of the world's population and agricultural land. The region is also the largest consumer of water by far, with a withdrawal rate of 2,384 billion cubic metres per year, which is more than the consumption of rest of the world.
The Asian and Pacific region uses the largest proportion of its water - nearly 79 per cent of its total withdrawal - for agriculture. This is followed by industrial use, at about 13 per cent, and domestic purposes, at 8 per cent. Of the 32 developing countries in Asia and the Pacific for which data are available, 29 withdraw more than 50 per cent of their water for agriculture. In 16 of these countries, more than 90 per cent of the water withdrawn is used in the agricultural sector.
In the other developing regions of the world, agriculture also consumes the largest share of water withdrawn. In Africa, agricultural consumption comprises 84 per cent of total water consumption, whereas in Latin America and the Caribbean this share is about 71 per cent. Both these regions differ from Asia and the Pacific in that they consume more water for domestic purposes than for industry. In North America and Europe, the largest share of water is used for industry, followed by agriculture and domestic purposes.
Figure 26.3 Water withdrawal by sector in the regions of the world, 2000
Groups of countries within Asia and the Pacific follow a pattern similar to that of the region as a whole, except the SAARC region and the least developed countries (five of the eight SAARC members are least developed countries), which have a higher share of water consumption for domestic purposes than for industrial use.
Figure 26.4 Water withdrawal by sector in selected Asian and Pacific country/area groupings, 2000
In Asia and the Pacific, the six largest consumers of water for which trend data are available are China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran. All except the Russian Federation increased water withdrawal between the early 1990s and 2000. Bangladesh, Thailand and Viet Nam are also among the countries withdrawing high levels of water in the region, that is, above 70 billion cubic metres per year.
Figure 26.5 Water withdrawal by sector in selected Asian and Pacific countries areas, 2000
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