Coincidental with National Geographic's recent documentary Parched: Global Water Wars, an Economist Intelligence Unit 2017 Report examines lessons from the Mekong River Basin where water resources a-plenty sustain the livelihood of millions but remain the cause célèbre between upstream and downstream countries driven by dams-builing, urbanization, and climate change.
The EIU Report finds that -
- Water abundance is not a substitute for good water governance.
- The ever-growing threats of climate change, economic development and rapid population growth demand comprehensive solutions that address both increased demand for and finite availability of food, energy and water resources.
- Successful water security solutions will minimize the trade-offs in the fragile food-energy-water nexus.
- Water resource management is a fundamental component of food security.
- Regional organisations can support water security by providing a platform for discussion, but they require stronger enforcement mechanisms to influence national-level water policy.
- Improved, effective water management at the national level requires increased agency co-ordination and implementation of regulations.
- Amid challenges to trans-boundary water resource management, donor, multilateral and international support for local and national interventions is critical to improving water security around the globe.
- The private sector can play an important role in reducing water insecurity around the globe, but this requires more innovative action.
Recent innovations include grain and fish varieties with shorter growth duration, rice varieties with greater salinity tolerance, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) techniques for rice production, better coordination between rice and shrimp production cycles, satellite imagery and geospatial technology to reduce food insecurity, innovative water-saving and less polluting consumer products, and cross-region power grids to tap non-water renewable resources.
The Report ends with a degree of cautious optimism - albeit slow, there appears some steady progress towards water security in the Mekong River Basin.
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