Water stress is defined as a phenomenon that occurs when water demand exceeds the available amount, or when poor quality restricts its use, according to the European Environment Agency, the institution in the European Union that provides independent information on the environment (“Water Stress”). Therefore, water stress refers to a crisis associated with both the quantity and quality of water. Our World in Data, the scientific online publication center t focuses on global concerns, notes that the problem of water stress should be emphasized since water stress accounts for up to 2.2% of global deaths due to the polluted water intake that creates diseases such as cholera, and due to insufficient water to grow food (“Clean Water”). It further states that within all developing countries around the world, African developing countries, including Rwanda, Malawi, and all Sub-Saharan African countries, and Asian developing water countries, including China, and Borneo island countries, portray the most extreme rate of mortality due to the water stress (“Clean Water”). Within this aspect, assessing the causes of water stress in developing countries of Asia and Africa remains essential so that future solutions can be proposed by eliminating these causes. One aspect of evaluating causes is considering environmental deterioration. Environmental deterioration is directly related to water stress since the qualitative degradation with natural contamination induces a “qualitative and quantitative strain on existing water resources to have a drastic impact on the life quality” (DeNicola et al.). Hence, to answer the question of possible environmental deterioration that can cause water stress in African and Asian developing countries, the aspect of climate change, eutrophication, and soil erosion should be considered.
Jacob Schewe et al., scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, claim that climate change can pose threat to freshwater security in Asian developing countries (3247). Carolyn Payus, a postdoctoral fellow in the field of Environmental Science from the National University of Malaysia, assents to the idea that climate change decreases freshwater levels in Asian developing countries. Payus provides an example of the Northeast Monsoon that caused the water level of the major dam for the specific drought period from September 2018 to July 2019 to fall greatly, recording 86.3% for the percentage of days that are at a critical freshwater level in Borneo island countries (1135). This is important as the falling freshwater level of the dam suggests the quantitative stain on the water that people can directly access for drinking, and practicing agriculture. Anil Kumar Misra, who earned a doctoral degree at the University of Lucknow in the hydrogeology area, also agrees with the direct correlation between climate change and water stress. Misra’s research on the possible impact of climate change in the future suggests that the temperature increase of 1.4-5.8 °C in Sub-Saharan Africa would cause rainfall to drop by 10% around 2050 (158). Considering that rainfall directly impacts agriculture, this elaborates on how temperature increase can lead to quantitative water stress that can even threaten the procurement of food, the human necessities in Sub-Saharan Africa regions (Guido et al.). Because climate change in both Asian and African developing countries triggers quantitative water stress that affects the quality of life, considering the environmental cause of water stress remains crucial.
Writer: Grace Jun
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