26
Figure 7.4. Total Actual Renewable Water in Arab Group Countries
Source: AQUASTAT, 2013
7.3. Asian Group
About 20% of fresh surface water of the world is located in Baikal Lake in Asia.
Despite such a great source, 34 countries in Asia, Africa and Middle East experience
water scarcity. A disaster is expected in Asia in near future. For instance, it is expected
that raising sea water levels due to global warming will bury about 2 thousand islands of
Indonesia under water by the year 2030.
Indonesia has the highest total annual renewable water resources in Asian
Group. This country is followed by Bangladesh and Malaysia. On the other hand,
Brunei and the Maldives are among the poorest countries (Figure 7.5).
Among the countries of Asia, Indonesia has also the richest groundwater sources
and it is followed by Turkey, Malaysia and Bangladesh (Figure 7.5).
In Asian Group, Turkey has the greatest infrastructure to control the renewable
water resources and can store 651 km3 of water supply in dams. On the other hand, with
regard to water storage in dams, Maldives, Guyana, and Suriname do not have any