WRI: Armenia ranks 17th in the list of countries with high water  shortages

ArmInfo.Armenia was on the 34th place in the list of 164 countries of the world where there is a shortage of water. This is stated in the report of the World  Resources Institute (WRI), published on Tuesday, August 6.

According to the study, Armenia is on the list of 27 countries that  are experiencing high water shortages.  Among them are Belgium,  Uzbekistan, Spain, Turkey, Italy and other states, thus, being on the  17th line of the rating.

The study evaluated water shortages, as well as the risks of drought  and river floods. The list of countries with extreme water shortages  includes Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi  Arabia, Eritrea, the United Arab Emirates, San Marino, Bahrain,  India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman and Botswana. In these states,  according to the study, agriculture, industry and municipalities  consume an average of 80% of the available surface and groundwater  annually.

It is clarified that 12 of the 17 countries exposed to extreme water  scarcity are in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region  is hot and dry, so the water resources were not rich at first, and  growing demand exacerbated the situation.

Due to climate change, the Middle East and North Africa will suffer  even greater economic losses from water shortages in the future. The  World Resources Institute notes that in a number of MENA countries  there are unrealized opportunities to improve water security: about  82% of wastewater in this region is not reused. The introduction of  their cleaning technologies will create a new source of clean water.   A positive example is shown by Oman, which occupies the 16th place in  the list of countries with extreme water shortages: this state on the  Arabian Peninsula treats 100% of the collected wastewater and reuses  78%.

Among other methods that will help solve the problem of acute  shortage of water, the researchers called improving the efficiency of  agriculture, as well as investing in gray and green infrastructure.

At the same time, as the WRI report showed, even in countries with  sufficient water resources there can be hot spots. While the overall  water deficit level in the United States is labeled "medium-low," the  US state of New Mexico is facing water shortages on a par with the  UAE.