Water Issues in Asia with special reference to the Greater Mekong Region and Thailand Mingsarn Kaosa-ard Social Research Institute Chiang Mai University June 14, 2008 1
Presentation today Current water status Impact of climate change Current water issues -Flooding (Does advanced warning system works?) -Water allocation( efficiency, equity and sustainability: who should get water first?) -Water pollution (who is not paying?) Conclusion 2
Water Status Asia has greater water withdrawal than any other parts of the world. Irrigation takes 80-90% of total withdrawal. Population growth, commercial agriculture, urbanization and industrialization further place greater demand for water. Excessive ground water withdrawal has led to land subsidence in large cities and saline water intrusion. 3
Actual Renewable Water Resources Region Total, 1960-2007 (km3) Per Capita, 2007 (m3/person/year) World 54,228.4 8,209.9 Asia (excluding Middle East) 14,513.9 3,947.6 China 2,829.1 2,125.0 India 1,896.7 1,670.2 Japan 430.0 3,350.9 GMS-5 3,156.4 14,089.4 Cambodia 476.1 32,525.6 Lao 333.6 53,859.2 Myanmar 1,045.6 20,312.8 Thailand 409.9 6,279.5 Viet Nam 891.2 10,309.6 Source: WRI, 2008 4
Groundwater Withdrawal, 1973-2005 As % of Total Per Capita Region Annual (km3) (m3/person) Recharge World 600 105.7 8.9 China 52.9 47.1 6.4 India 190 224.5 45.4 Japan 13.6 108.4 50.4 Thailand 0.7 15.1 1.7 Viet Nam 0.8 12.1 1.7 Source: WRI, 2008 5
Climate Change By 2050 s fresh water availability in central Southeast and South-east Asia in larger basin is likely to decrease. 6
Climate Change Very likely to contribute to sea level rise in the latter half of this century affecting both urban and agricultural sector Likely increase in tropical cyclone intensity Likely effects on various ecosystems e.g. rain forests, low lying coastal systems and dry tropics. Likely negative impact on food production in low latitudes 7
Water disasters in Asia Pictures will be added 8
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Top ten countries affected by Flood * Country Date Killed China P Rep Jul-1931 3,700,000 China P Rep Jul-1959 2,000,000 China P Rep Jul-1939 500,000 China P Rep 1935 142,000 Myanmar May-2008 130,000 China P Rep 1911 100,000 China P Rep Jul-1949 57,000 Guatemala Oct-1949 40,000 China P Rep Aug-1954 30,000 Venezuela 15-Dec-1999 30,000 * sorted by number of people killed, total affected and by economic damage Source: CRED EM-DAT 10
Cyclone Nargis - Myanmar 3 MAY 2008 IRAWADY Delta, MYANMAR At least 130,000 people killed 2.5 million people affected by May 31, 2008 11
Top ten countries affected by wave/surge * Country Date Killed Indonesia 26-Dec-2004 165,708 Sri Lanka 26-Dec-2004 35,399 India 26-Dec-2004 16,389 Thailand 26-Dec-2004 8,345 Japan 3-Mar-1933 3,000 Soviet Union 4-Nov-1952 2,300 Papua N Guinea 17-Jul-1998 2,182 Japan 1-Sep-1923 2,144 Japan 7-Mar-1927 1,100 Indonesia 17-Jul-2006 802 * sorted by number of people killed, total affected and by economic damage Source: CRED EM-DAT 12
Water Issues (cont d) Flooding: -Mitigation is possible Advanced warning system are often proposed. An example of community self-help to mitigate impacts from flood and mudslides -Need to empower local government /communities to operate warning systems 13
Water allocation Increased competition for water Objectives: Efficiency Equity Sustainability 14
% Withdrawal by Sector, 2000 Region Agriculture Industrial Domestic World 70 20 10 Asia (excluding Middle East) 81 12 7 China 68 26 7 India 86 5 8 Japan 62 18 20 GMS-5 86 10 4 Cambodia 98 0 1 Lao 90 6 4 Myanmar 98 1 1 Thailand 95 2 2 Viet Nam 68 24 8 Source: WRI, 2008 15
Current systems Water is under priced - Wasteful or inefficient use - Resources diverted to use by the rich and the powerful - Unsustainable use 16
Water Issues (cont d) Water Allocation and Use Issues -Upstream downstream conflicts - Conflicts between water resources development and * environment protection * livelihood * ecosystem services - Water allocation between sectors * food or manufactures or services (golf courses /spas) 17
Mekong River Basin Development A multi resources, multinational and multi- stakeholders problem 18
Flow Contributions: Country Flow Upper Mekong Contributio (18%) China 16% n (%) Yunan, Myanmar China 2% 16 Myanmar 2 Lower Mekong (82%) Laos 35 Cambodia 18% Thailand 18 Lao 35% Cambodia Thailand 18% 18 Viet Nam Viet Nam 11% 11 Total 100 Source: MRC, 1996 19
Tonle Sap Tonle Sap is Southeast Asia s largest freshwater lake and one of the most productive inland water lake providing 60 % of Cambodia inland fisheries and directly supports over 1 million people. 20
Tonle Sap is under threat from -logging -siltation and water pollution -overfishing -change in water flow from damming 21
Effective conservation of Tonle Sap requires -integrated approach to multiple resources management -empowering local good governance -better understanding of the ecosystem 22
Lancang hydropower cascade Under construction Existing 23
Complex inter-linkage The higher the flood level, the higher the level of sedimentation Construction of upstream dams could reduce water flow and sedimentation affecting rice and aquatic production. 24
Tonle Sap s Future? 25
Urban Water Pollution The cost of water pollution is on the rise and constitute a large share of damage f from environment degradation 26
Water and Sanitation % Access to Improved Water Sources % Access to Improved Sanitation Region Y2004 Y1990 Y2004 Y1990 World 83 78 59 49 Asia (excluding Middle East) 82 73 47 29 China 77 70 44 23 India 86 70 33 14 Japan 100 100 100 100 GMS-5 Cambodia 41.. 17.. Lao 51.. 30.. Myanmar 78 57 77 24 Thailand 99 95 99 80 Viet Nam 85 65 61 36 Source: WRI, 2008 27
Water and Sanitation : Urban % Access to Improved Water Sources % Access to Improved Sanitation Region Y2004 Y1990 Y2004 Y1990 World 95 95 80 79 Asia (excluding Middle East) 93 94 70 61 China 93 99 69 64 India 95 89 59 45 Japan 100 100 100 100 GMS-5 Cambodia 64.. 53.. Lao 79.. 67.. Myanmar 80 86 88 48 Thailand 98 98 98 95 Viet Nam 99 90 92 58 Source: WRI, 2008 28
Water Issues (cont d) Water Pollution - Institutional problem weak enforcement Fees - too low Inappropriate wastewater treatment system 29
Water Pollution Weak enforcement of Polluter Pays - Principle 30
Conclusion Water resources problems cannot be considered and solved as a stand alone problem. More emphasis on institutional not only engineering solution Empower local communities and local governments More Funds for R&D 31