COMCEC Agriculture Outlook 2016
27
Figure 22. Renewable Water Potential in the OIC by Sub-Regions
Source: Calculated by using AQUASTAT and FAOSTAT
As to OIC Member Countries, they have 7,261 km3 /year of renewable water resources
for the period 2013-2017 that accounts for 13.3 percent of the world’s total. Taking into
account the OIC Member Countries have 28 percent of world’s total agricultural area, the
majority of the Member Countries are under the water scarcity. This situation can be clearly
understood from Figure 22. It reveals that average renewable water resources per hectare of
agricultural land in the OIC are 5,199 m3/ha, which is lower than half of the world’s average.
At the sub-regional level, renewable water resources disperse unequally in the OIC.
Moreover, the share of renewable water resources to the agricultural land varies considerably
among its sub-regions. While Asian Group having 71 percent of renewable water resources in
the OIC, possess 9,965 m 3/ha renewable water for per hectare agricultural land, Arab Group
owes 4 percent of renewable water resources with 554 m3/ha renewable water for per hectare
of agricultural land.
Since OIC Member Countries are dispersed over a large geographical region, on four
continents and have wide range of climate conditions, big differences are seen at the country
level regarding amount of renewable water. In terms of their renewable water resources per
hectare of agricultural land, some OIC Member Countries are very rich while most of them are
under water-scarcity.
Table 7 and Table 8 indicate renewable water-rich OIC Member Countries and
renewable water-poor OIC Member Countries, respectively. Analyzing Table 7, it is seen that
Suriname, Brunei Darussalam have relatively high level of water resource per hectare of
agricultural land. This situation can be explained by their very low level of agricultural land;
even they do not have high renewable water resources. They are followed by Guyana,
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Gabon, Cameroon, and Albania.
5.079
554
9.965
5.199
11.114
% 25.0
% 4.0
% 71.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0
2.000
4.000
6.000
8.000
10.000
12.000
African Group Arab Group Asian Group OIC Average World
Percent m3/ha
Renewable Water Resources Per Hectare (left axis) Share of RWR in the OIC (right axis)