Food-threatening 'water stress'...WRI "Korea, High-Risks Country
March 22 was the United Nations' World Day for Water, and this year's "Water and Climate Change" was chosen as the key theme. With industrial growth and population growth, we are increasingly demanding water, but climate change, water waste and water pollution caused by this are threatening water around the world. Water security has emerged as an international issue, with experts saying that the possibility of a water war is much greater than the possibility of a nuclear war in the future. "Water stress is emerging as a form of international conflict and is threatening human food," warned Andrew Steer, head of the World Resources Institute.
Korea is no exception. Korea is a food security crisis. The grain self-sufficiency rate is only 23 percent (average between 2015 and 2017 and the Korea Rural Economic Institute), ranking last among OECD members. At the same time, South Korea is the country that pointed to its high "water stress" index in a document released by the World Resources Institute following the United Nations.
Photo: "Aquino Water Risk Atlas, 2019" by the World Resources Research Institute (WRI) Korea has a mix of "orange" and "red", with a high water stress index.
▶In 17 countries with 25 percent of the world's population, 'extreme' water stress = The World Resources Institute's warning is clearly demonstrated in its 'Accelerator Water Risk Atlas' released last year. This is a regional map of the world's water risk using 12 indicators, including water quality, quantity, and regulation, and what we call 'water stress' (%) is 100 * (freshwater intake)/ (full water - environmental maintenance). Simply put, it refers to the share of water demand in water resources that can be used annually. In other words, the higher the ratio, the more serious the water shortage problem is.
The area marked as 'red' on the map is the 'EXTREMELY HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS' phase with a 'water stress' index of 80 percent or more. As many as one-fourth of the world's population resides in 17 countries. Countries such as the water-poor Middle East and North Africa and India with a large population. The next step, 'Red', is 'High' (HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS) at 40 to 80%. Combining both the "red" and "red" phases, it is one-third (44 countries) of the world's population.
The 'orange' color, which is 20 to 40%, is MEDIUM-HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS. Korea has a mix of 'orange' and 'red', with a high water stress index. "Yellow" then refers to the water stress index (10-20%) at the LOW-MEDIUM BASELINE WATER STRESS level, and "Yellow" refers to the index of the LOW BASELINE WATER STERS (less than 10%). The World Resources Research Institute has a tragic outlook that 470 million people will suffer from water shortages in 45 large cities in 2030. This includes Seoul, South Korea, along with Tokyo and LA.
Photo: A United Nations Report Introducing Korea as a 'Water Stress Country' (25 to 70%) (2018)
▶Korea that does not feel 'water shortage' = In the "Level of Physical Water Stress" released by the UN, Korea was classified as a 'water stress country' with a water stress index of 25 to 70 percent. Moreover, the report (2012) titled "OECD Environment Outlook 2050" published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed to "the most serious water shortage among OECD countries." At the time, the report classified Korea as a "severe water stress" country with a water stress index exceeding 40 percent, predicting that "Korea will become a "water famine country" in 2025." The report then said, "The global demand for water will increase by 55% in 2050 compared to 2000," and that "more than 40% of the world's population will suffer from a serious water shortage in 1950."
Although Korea has been classified as a water-stressed country several times, Korea's water use is still high. According to the Ministry of Environment's Water Supply Statistics 2017, as of the end of 2016, the daily water use per capita was 287 liters, the third-largest in the world after the United States and Japan. It uses more than twice as much water as European countries such as Germany (127 liters) and Denmark (131 liters). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of the world's population lives on 94 liters of water per day.
▶ Water stress is a food security issue: Koreans use more water because they do not feel much water shortage in their daily lives. Although Korea lacks water resources, it draws as much water as possible from rivers, and the water tax is relatively low. But the water stress problem is the biggest risk to food security. The U.N. said the climate crisis will further increase water stress, which will significantly reduce food production, threatening food security. This is because the climate crisis makes humid areas more humid, causing heavy rain to occur more frequently, and making the soil in dry areas drier. While food demand is expected to increase 14 percent every 10 years by 2050, some predict that major grain harvests such as rice and corn could fall by 20 to 40 percent by 2100 (U.S. University of Washington, 2009).
Currently, water problems around the world come from four causes. It is water that has become unusable due to the climate crisis, population growth, the industrialization that uses a lot of water, and pollution of rivers, and so on. Even with these changes, problems arise because water resources remain the same.
"Water and food are important conditions for survival," said Lim Hyung-Joon, head of the U.N. World Food Program's Korean office. "In many parts of the world facing the food crisis, water shortages have a huge impact on agricultural productivity," he said. "Water quality management is very important for our health." The World Resources Research Institute said that water stress has a huge ripple effect on human life, society, and the economy as a whole, but said, "It can be solved if we invest more in policies and management of water." "If we don't act now, human life and ecosystem will have to pay huge costs," said Stier, head of the World Resources Institute.
Korea is no exception. Korea is a food security crisis. The grain self-sufficiency rate is only 23 percent (average between 2015 and 2017 and the Korea Rural Economic Institute), ranking last among OECD members. At the same time, South Korea is the country that pointed to its high "water stress" index in a document released by the World Resources Institute following the United Nations.
Photo: "Aquino Water Risk Atlas, 2019" by the World Resources Research Institute (WRI) Korea has a mix of "orange" and "red", with a high water stress index.
▶In 17 countries with 25 percent of the world's population, 'extreme' water stress = The World Resources Institute's warning is clearly demonstrated in its 'Accelerator Water Risk Atlas' released last year. This is a regional map of the world's water risk using 12 indicators, including water quality, quantity, and regulation, and what we call 'water stress' (%) is 100 * (freshwater intake)/ (full water - environmental maintenance). Simply put, it refers to the share of water demand in water resources that can be used annually. In other words, the higher the ratio, the more serious the water shortage problem is.
The area marked as 'red' on the map is the 'EXTREMELY HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS' phase with a 'water stress' index of 80 percent or more. As many as one-fourth of the world's population resides in 17 countries. Countries such as the water-poor Middle East and North Africa and India with a large population. The next step, 'Red', is 'High' (HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS) at 40 to 80%. Combining both the "red" and "red" phases, it is one-third (44 countries) of the world's population.
The 'orange' color, which is 20 to 40%, is MEDIUM-HIGH BASELINE WATER STRESS. Korea has a mix of 'orange' and 'red', with a high water stress index. "Yellow" then refers to the water stress index (10-20%) at the LOW-MEDIUM BASELINE WATER STRESS level, and "Yellow" refers to the index of the LOW BASELINE WATER STERS (less than 10%). The World Resources Research Institute has a tragic outlook that 470 million people will suffer from water shortages in 45 large cities in 2030. This includes Seoul, South Korea, along with Tokyo and LA.
Photo: A United Nations Report Introducing Korea as a 'Water Stress Country' (25 to 70%) (2018)
▶Korea that does not feel 'water shortage' = In the "Level of Physical Water Stress" released by the UN, Korea was classified as a 'water stress country' with a water stress index of 25 to 70 percent. Moreover, the report (2012) titled "OECD Environment Outlook 2050" published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed to "the most serious water shortage among OECD countries." At the time, the report classified Korea as a "severe water stress" country with a water stress index exceeding 40 percent, predicting that "Korea will become a "water famine country" in 2025." The report then said, "The global demand for water will increase by 55% in 2050 compared to 2000," and that "more than 40% of the world's population will suffer from a serious water shortage in 1950."
Although Korea has been classified as a water-stressed country several times, Korea's water use is still high. According to the Ministry of Environment's Water Supply Statistics 2017, as of the end of 2016, the daily water use per capita was 287 liters, the third-largest in the world after the United States and Japan. It uses more than twice as much water as European countries such as Germany (127 liters) and Denmark (131 liters). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of the world's population lives on 94 liters of water per day.
▶ Water stress is a food security issue: Koreans use more water because they do not feel much water shortage in their daily lives. Although Korea lacks water resources, it draws as much water as possible from rivers, and the water tax is relatively low. But the water stress problem is the biggest risk to food security. The U.N. said the climate crisis will further increase water stress, which will significantly reduce food production, threatening food security. This is because the climate crisis makes humid areas more humid, causing heavy rain to occur more frequently, and making the soil in dry areas drier. While food demand is expected to increase 14 percent every 10 years by 2050, some predict that major grain harvests such as rice and corn could fall by 20 to 40 percent by 2100 (U.S. University of Washington, 2009).
Currently, water problems around the world come from four causes. It is water that has become unusable due to the climate crisis, population growth, the industrialization that uses a lot of water, and pollution of rivers, and so on. Even with these changes, problems arise because water resources remain the same.
"Water and food are important conditions for survival," said Lim Hyung-Joon, head of the U.N. World Food Program's Korean office. "In many parts of the world facing the food crisis, water shortages have a huge impact on agricultural productivity," he said. "Water quality management is very important for our health." The World Resources Research Institute said that water stress has a huge ripple effect on human life, society, and the economy as a whole, but said, "It can be solved if we invest more in policies and management of water." "If we don't act now, human life and ecosystem will have to pay huge costs," said Stier, head of the World Resources Institute.
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