EDITORIAL - Water crisis

Climate change is creating another problem: a shortage of fresh water, which in turn could lead to a food crisis. Among the most vulnerable regions is Asia, where booming populations and water resource mismanagement could lead to disastrous food shortages. Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden at the start of World Water Week, experts warned that the water and food shortages could lead to spikes in poverty, malnutrition and social unrest.

That should prod national leaders to address the problem that experts have been warning about for several years now. Like numerous other natural resources, the planet’s fresh water supply cannot keep up with the continually growing population worldwide. Climate change is compounding the problem in many countries. Experts have warned that the next wars could be fought over fresh water supply. In many countries where water supply cannot keep up with the needs of an ever-growing population, resource mismanagement is compounding the problem.

In a statement at the end of the weeklong gathering in Stockholm, the world water community called for measures that transcend national boundaries in ensuring sufficient water supply especially in vulnerable areas. These hot spots must be identified for timely intervention by the international community. The gathering also called for the integration of water resource management with similar efforts for land and forest resources to improve adaptation. Experts warned that unless irrigation is improved in Asia, the continent may be forced to import over a quarter of its grain needs to meet food demand, which is expected to double by 2050.

In the Philippines, fresh water supply is insufficient not just for farms but also for households in urban centers including Metro Manila. An unprecedented protest rally staged by residents of Asia’s largest housing subdivision, BF Homes in Parañaque, showed that the problem is not just a question of water supply: the residents marched against an order issued by Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Judge Raul Bautista Villanueva, indefinitely suspending the provision of water to households by Maynilad Water. Villanueva granted a petition filed by subdivision developer BF Homes Inc.’s subsidiary Philippine Waterworks and Construction Corp., whose water supply service, residents said, has been dismal for the past two decades. Other parts of Metro Manila have similar problems in varying degrees.

In both rural and urban areas, water is the stuff of life. Governments must see to it that their citizens have an adequate supply of this basic necessity at affordable costs. Experts have given sufficient warning that cannot be ignored.