Southeast Asia is highly susceptible to extreme weather events
Water security issues in Southeast Asia hinder progress on various crucial human development challenges. Managing water resources effectively is becoming increasingly critical in Asia and the Pacific, with its fast-paced economic development, population growth and changing climate.
In recent years, soaring temperatures and volatile weather conditions put more pressure on dwindling water supplies in almost all Southeast Asian countries. Over the past three decades, roughly 66 million people in southeast Asia have been affected by droughts and water shortages.
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Water services provision in southeast Asia is inadequate and unequal, with a disparity of water access between urban and rural areas. Many people flock to small streams, walking 1-2miles to get water during the summer months. The streams are polluted during the rainy season and dry up during the hot summer months.
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Since water security is closely related to sanitation and health, these deficiencies pose significant challenges for governments and the need to find alternative means to boost water supplies.
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The people in the remote communities are uneducated and have insufficient technical skills. In some villages, people still use rudimentary water movement such as bamboo or carved wood to channel water many kilometres from hillside streams or rivers into their villages. These basic measures don’t last as long as they rot, decay quickly, and are regularly rebuilt. People also rely on harvesting rainwater from roofs into containers during the wet season.
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Area: Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar
Solution: Piped water systems from clean mountain water sources and construction of distribution outlets throughout the village.