Food production threatened

FOOD production and even economic growth in Asia, including the Philippines, will be under threat owing to the expected 40-percent shortfall in water supply and demand in the region by 2030, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

The Manila-based multilateral bank said this shortfall would be brought about by rapid urbanization, industrialization, pollution and the onset of climate change. The shortfall is exacerbated by the fact that water use in Asian countries has been marked by inefficiencies and waste.

In a briefing, Arjun Thapan, ADB special senior advisor for Infrastructure and Water and the convener of the International Water Conference, said the expected 40-percent shortfall that is expected in 20 years is based on a “business as usual” scenario.

“The impact is going to be greatest on food production, on the investments in the energy sector, as well as rapidly expanding cities. All this is doubtless going to impact on overall economic growth. I’m not sure that anybody has done a research but this is something that instinct and basic discipline tell us if there is no further action taken to improve the rates of efficiency of water use,” Thapan explained.

The ADB said leakage in urban water-supply systems alone amounts to the loss of as much as 29 billion cubic meters a year, worth around $9 billion.

Irrigated agriculture, which draws most of Asia’s freshwater, is also inefficient with efficiency improvements averaging 1 percent annually since 1990.

The bank said providing water below costs, or giving it away at no cost—coupled with the lack of integrated planning for water use, weak governance and low levels of investment from the private sector—have also hampered the management of the resource.

Thapan pointed out that in the Philippines this is compounded by the fact that out of the 412 rivers in the country, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) said 50 are considered biologically dead.

However, the ADB believes that what is needed right now is to manage demand in such a way that countries will be able to plug leakages in water supply and make use more efficient. This will require a lot of resources, and the ADB is committed to extending $2 billion to $2.4 billion for its developing member-countries every year for the next five years.

Nonetheless, Thapan said the ADB is also looking at other funding sources to extend more funds to developing countries like the Philippines. This, he said, is where the private sector will come in.

He said partnerships with the private sector through public-private partnerships are among the main thrusts of the bank’s new draft Water Operational Framework. The framework may be approved by the end of the year and, once implemented, will be used starting 2011 to 2020.

“Asia has been an inefficient water user, with a constant bias toward growing supply rather than managing demand. ADB’s draft Water Operational Framework suggests a new paradigm for its developing member-countries focused on efficiency gains, business-like approaches, and effective partnerships to make better use of scarce resources,” Thapan said.

The ADB said the framework, a result of consultations with stakeholders, provides a design for ADB’s future work in the water area, with the focus on using water more efficiently. Operations will focus on areas, such as advanced water-efficient irrigation practices, reducing losses in urban water-supply systems, and the development and adoption of technologies that offer cost-effective ways to treat and reuse wastewater.

The bank also said the framework will also pay greater attention to developing a corporate outlook in the business of water services, currently dominated by governments, so as to drive efficiency and attract private investments and expertise.

“Increased investments from the private sector, especially in managing and delivering water services, and in using technology and innovation to reduce our water footprint will be critical to securing a sustainable water supply,” Thapan said. “Governments do not have the resources to go to scale and effective partnerships with the private sector will be a sine qua non.”

The framework recommends a study to examine the outlook for available sources of freshwater in the region over the next 20 years, as well as forecasting the impact of water-use policies and practices on food, energy production, industrial growth and domestic use, factoring in climate-change uncertainties. It will consider potential technology solutions to improve efficiency, and business models to encourage private-sector investment.

Following the regional study and water assessments for selected countries, ADB will seek to mobilize fresh resources for the Water Financing Partnership Facility, a mechanism established in 2006 to fund investments in rural and urban water services and river-basin management.

It will also review the status and quality of its water partnerships to maximize synergies and knowledge development, and will explore he deployment of specialist water teams in-country to provide real-time quality support. -Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter, Businessmirror