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| Sunday, 22 January 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Asia's water security by Samina Iqbal The mountains of Asia, including the mighty Himalayas, are facing accelerating threats from a rapid rise in roads, settlements, overgrazing and deforestation experts have warned in a new report. There is concern that the region's water supplies, fed by glaciers and the monsoons, and vital for around half the world's population, may be harmed alongside the area's abundant and rich wildlife. The new report points to a critical gap in the security of the water to billions of people in Asia and the crucial role of sound environmental management for sustainable development. It claims that unchecked and piecemeal development are likely to increase rates of forest loss, triggering increased levels of erosion, pollution and other potentially harmful effects. Conversion of pristine areas into farm and grazing land is aggravating the situation. Satellite images reveal that deforestation and unsustainable land use practices may explain why the region's rivers now have the largest sediment loads in the world and why dissolved nutrients in the water are increasing more than in any other region. This is one of the primary causes for the increasing human drought and flood-related disasters in the region, including the latest floods and resultant high number of casualties in China and India. By combining a range of local studies with satellite images from 1960 up to today, the scientists have been able to reveal for the first time the scale of land-use changes in the region. Mountains are the water towers of the world and often home to unique wildlife species, upon which local people depend for food, medicines and other important materials. |
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