New study: Philippines to face ‘high’ level of water shortage by 2040

The Philippines is in danger of experiencing water scarcity in 25 years, according to a new study. The study, conducted by think tank World Resources Institute (WRI), predicts the Philippines will experience a “high” degree of water shortage in the year 2040. The Southeast Asian country ranked 57th likely most water stressed country in 2040 out of 167 countries. The sector that will bear the brunt of water shortage by that year is agriculture, a major component of the country’s economy. The study defined water stress as “the ratio between total water withdrawals and available renewable surface water at a sub-catchment level.” Countries were given a score from 0 to 5, with higher scores corresponding to greater competition among water users given limited sources of water. The Philippines garnered a total score of 3.0 indicating “high” level of water stress.