The European Environment Agency (EEA) published a new report on Tuesday 3 November warning about water scarcity and pollution problems in the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine).
According to the report, renewable freshwater resources vary considerably across the region, ranging from 12 ,000 m3 per capita in Georgia to 1,800 m3 in Moldova and 1,730 m3 in Azerbaijan in 2017, two countries where water scarcity has been a problem over the past two decades.
The document also indicates that total annual water abstraction in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine decreased considerably between 2000 and 2017, but increased in Georgia (+22%), Armenia (+32%) and Azerbaijan (+10%).
The latter two countries have overexploited renewable freshwater resources for agriculture and public water supply, with an estimated water exploitation index of 61% and 72% respectively in 2017.
The report also points to the aged water-conveyance systems, which leads to significant water losses.
The water-conveyance system in Armenia, for example, caused 79% of losses in the public water supply in 2017. Similarly, 63% of water was lost in the Georgian water-conveyance system, 49% in Moldova and 48% in Azerbaijan, while Belarus, with only 18% water loss, has the highest conveyance efficiency among the Eastern Partnership countries.
Pollution
While water pollution is not a new problem for these countries, the EEA points out that it is likely to increase in the future due to intensification of agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation, especially if these developments are not supported by better wastewater treatment.
The main problem in the region’s rivers is the high concentration of ammonium (NH4) and phosphate, caused by untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater discharges and by agriculture.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3jTFT3D (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)