ABSTRACT
Asia’s development presents a formidable challenge to water resources, in particular because of growing environmental degradation, population increase and urbanisation. In 1990, for example, some 2.9 billion people (55 per cent of the total world’s total population) were living in East and South Asia, and the UN forecasts that this population will increase to about 4.2 billion in 2025. On the other hand, Asian countries occupy only about 16 per cent of the world’s total land surface (Frederiksen et al., 1993: xiii). Moreover, in 1990 the urban population already accounted for 24 per cent of the total population in East and South Asia, and this figure will increase, according to UN forecasts, to about 50 per cent by 2025. Therefore, we can anticipate large increases in water demand for urban supplies and industries, which will in parallel increase the problems of urban and industrial waste water disposal. In short, growing industrial and agricultural production, combined with current demographic trends, will exacerbate environmental problems, both in the water sector and elsewhere.
