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Improving the Management of Water Scarcity in the Asia–Pacific Region - MTF/RAS/400/EWL

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Year of publication 2025

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Category Factsheet

Synopsis (short abstract) The Asia–Pacific region faces growing water scarcity due to population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and climate change. This scarcity affects agriculture, economic development, and water security, with challenges varying from absolute shortages in arid zones to seasonal scarcity in monsoonal areas.In Indonesia, water scarcity is driven by uneven resource distribution, groundwater overextraction, pollution, and deforestation, with severe impacts on agriculture and urban areas. In Thailand, droughts, climate change, and competing demands intensify water scarcity, affecting agriculture, livelihoods, and the economy. In Viet Nam, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change threaten agriculture and the environment, hindered by fragmented policies. Cambodia faces water scarcity due to seasonal variability, inadequate infrastructure, and poor water quality, despite relatively abundant resources. The Asia–Pacific Water Scarcity Programme (WSP) aims to address these challenges by engaging stakeholders, especially governments, to improve water management. The programme focuses on overcoming policy conflicts, regulatory inefficiencies, and underdeveloped management tools, using a four-pillar approach that integrates technical, policy and governance solutions. FAO launched the Asia–Pacific WSP in 2019. This initiative, developed with support from the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), aimed to enhance resilience and improved water resource management through technical, managerial, and policy interventions designed around four key pillars: (i) understanding water use and demand by developing practical capacities in water accounting; (ii) developing water allocation frameworks and processes based on the best available data; (iii) working at the farm and scheme level to optimize productivity with the amount of water sustainably available; and (iv) establishing a regional cooperative platform (RCP) to allow countries to learn from each other. Key activities included in-depth policy analyses, water scarcity mapping, stakeholder consultations, and capacity-building exercises, to assist countries in implementing fair, equitable, and transparent water accounting and allocation frameworks at the national level.

Language English

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