Page 146 - AJWEP-v22i2

Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution. Vol. 22, No. 2 (2025), pp. 140-151.
doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025090057

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Water scarcity in Asian nations and the path to resilience

Muhammad Khalid Anser , Muhammad Zaheer Akhtar ,
2
1
Syed Tahir Hussain Shah , Muhammad Azhar Khan , and Khalid Zaman *
2
3
2
1 Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Rize, Türkiye
2 Department of Economics, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur,
Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
3 Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wah,
Wah Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: Khalid Zaman (khalid.zaman@uoh.edu.pk)

Received: February 25, 2025; 1st revised: February 25, 2025; 2nd revised: March 15, 2025;
3rd revised: March 27, 2025; Accepted: March 28, 2025; Published online: April 16, 2025

Abstract: Water, the most essential component for life and ecological balance, is scarce worldwide, particularly
in underprivileged countries. This research uses panel data from 39 Asian nations spanning from 1996 to 2022 to
examine the impact of water scarcity (WS) on climate change, socioeconomic issues, governance instability, food
production, and sustainable groundwater planning. The generalized method of moments estimator results reveal
that government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and crop production reduce WS by 17.581%, 55.049%, and
0.171%, respectively. In contrast, agricultural land degradation, renewable energy demand, and climate funding
exacerbate WS by 0.001%, 1.551%, and 10.397%, respectively. The study underscores the importance of effective
governance and climate financing in securing Asia’s water future.

Keywords: Water stress; Climate risk; Governance; Climate financing; Population growth; Renewable energy
demand; Asian economies

1. Introduction issue, particularly affecting underprivileged nations,
which remain vulnerable if swift and effective measures
Water, as the most crucial component and a vital are not implemented. Water insecurity primarily
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resource, plays a pivotal role in sustaining human life affects developing countries, often exacerbated by
and maintaining ecological equilibrium on a global scale. ineffective policies and management. In the context of
It is irrefutable that survival for any living organism is the ever-changing global ecosystem, climate change
impossible without water. Despite covering 71% of the has emerged as the most pressing environmental
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Earth’s surface, only a small fraction – approximately concern of the Anthropocene age, driven primarily by
2.5% – is fresh and usable for human consumption. the escalating use of fossil fuels since industrialization.
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Moreover, the increasing demand for water, driven by Consequently, the impacts of climate change on
population growth (POPG), has led to over a third of the freshwater ecosystems and water supplies are expected
world facing various water scarcity (WS) challenges. to be among the key challenges faced by nations in the
This alarming trend of WS has become a major global 21 century. 4
st

Volume 22 Issue 2 (2025) 140 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025090057