The Asian Development Bank (ADB) turned out a study on Wednesday about water security and the accessibility of quality water throughout Asia. The study’s results proved to be both alarming and, at the same time, encouraging.

Access to clean water is an important issue all around the developing world. Yet even when there is access to useable water sources, the wealthier countries have the cleanest water and best water delivery and sewage systems. In the last twenty years the progress made in Asia as a whole has been astounding, with nearly 91 percent of all regions experiencing greater access to clean water today. The ADB claims that no member country has a sufficient water security plan. While water accessibility has increased, the threat of natural disasters could seriously affect the drinking water of every Asian country. The high frequency of water-related natural disasters throughout Asia such as floods, tsunamis, and landslides creates instability for those in charge of protecting water supplies. The recent study claims that access to clean drinking water throughout Asia has improved from about 74 percent in 1990 to 91 percent in 2010.

The ADB is glad to see that the region overall continues to make such significant progress but the fact that almost four-fifths of Asia’s major rivers have been declared in poor sanitary health is cause for concern. The urbanization of the continent’s population along with unchecked pollution may worsen the current situation and reverse the progress of the last two decades if the problems are not addressed by regional governments and conversationalists. Hopefully, with more hard work and good leadership, the positive trend of increased water access will continue.

– Kevin Sullivan

Source: Flickr