Scarcity in the Land of Plenty
Peer Reviewed
Date issued
February 2022
Data
Subject
Water and Sanitation;
Water Quality;
Drought;
Water Resource;
Wastewater;
Economy;
Natural Resource
JEL code
Q25 - Water;
Q54 - Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming;
Q56 - Environment and Development • Environment and Trade • Sustainability • Environmental Accounts and Accounting • Environmental Equity • Population Growth;
R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
Category
Technical Notes
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the most water-rich region in the world, but millions of its inhabitants live with water risk. This contradiction, driven by mismatches in the location of supply vs demand, quality issues, and failing infrastructure, makes it crucial that policy makers use people-centric water risk metrics when assessing water risk in LAC. 35% of the population lives in water stressed basins, a number which balloons to 60% when accounting for the lack of institutional capacity for preserving water quality and providing water services.
NO