Chapter 4: 'Water' - Resource Efficiency in Asia and the Pacific

Water is essential to life, supplying human needs and maintaining ecosystems for all living species. Water resources are important to socio-economic development, providing material input into production and consumption activities and acting as sinks for waste material. Consequently, water resource systems are closely linked to the economic use of resources. This section of the report investigates water resource and water use patterns, trends in water use, and resultant stress on water systems across the Asia-Pacific region.