ADB sets up fund to help Asian nations face water crisis
U.S. Water News Online
MANILA, Philippines -- The Asian Development Bank set up a fund to help Asian nations deal with a ``looming water crisis'' with a $4 million contribution from the Netherlands, the bank said.
The Cooperative Fund for the Water Sector is to promote water management policies and practices at the regional, subregional and country levels, the bank said in a statement.
``Asia faces unprecedented water shortages and pollution unless countries take strong and concerted action,'' it quoted Wouter Lincklaen, the ADB's water resource specialist, as saying.
Linklaen said one in three Asians lacks easy access to safe drinking water ``and thi
s situation is getting worse.''
The bank said water resources in the region are in a ``critical state'' with freshwater endowment in Asia among the lowest in the world. It said 30 percent of Asians do not have a safe drinking water resource within 200 yards of their homes.
``This scarcity affects the lives of 700 million people in rural areas and more than 90 million in the cities,'' it said.
The water fund will be used to implement the bank's water policy and help countries design and implement integrated approaches to water resource development and management through close cooperation with governments, other international organizations, the private sector, research institutes, and non-government organizations.
The $4 million Dutch contribution was the first to the multi-donor fund.
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