Water as Leverage- Setting the scene for a call for action

Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia
Setting the Scene for a Call for Action
Content
2.1
Some of the world’s
most challenging water
issues are situated in
Asia …
Nowhere on earth are waterrelated
disasters as widespread
and costly, both in terms
of human life and loss of
(social) wealth, as in South
and Southeast Asia. The
impact of climate change,
such as the deterioration
of Asia’s ‘water towers’,
influences prolonged heat
waves, coastal sea level rise
and modified rainfall patterns
that will disrupt ecosystem
services and lead to severe
effects on the population’s
livelihood. This, in return, will
affect human health, migration
dynamics and the potential
for conflicts (A Region at Risk,
ADB, 2017). The snowy peaks
and glaciers in the Himalayan
range currently supply water
to 1.3 billion people living in
the great Asian river basins,
but this supply shows
clear signs of decreasing.
With the diminishing of the
natural storage capacities
of glaciers and the outburst
of glacial lakes, the risks of
flooding and water shortages
increase. Climate change
also raises precipitation, and
thus augments the frequency
and intensity of heavy rainfall
events, particularly affecting
South and Southeast Asia.
Coupled with a measured
increase of tropical cyclone
strength and the collateral
hazard of sea level rise, tidal
floods will also occur more
often. Eventually, Asian cities
will account for 83% of the
world’s population affected by
sea level rise.
Amount of people affected by sealevel
rise. The three-degree world:
the cities that will be drowned by
global warming, Josh Holder, Niko
Kommenda and Jonathan Watts for
The Guardian, November 3, 2017.
Shanghai
17.5 million
Hong Kong
8.4 million
Osaka
5.2 million
Alexandria
3.0 million The Hague
2.5 million
Miami
2.7 million
Rio de Janeiro
1.8 million
Africa Europe N. America S. America
Asia
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Asia’s Coastal Regions
PART 1 / From Global Water Issues to a Call for Action
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