WATER SCARCITY IN SOUTH ASIA: CHALLENGES, IMPACTS, AND COOPERATIVE PATHWAYS TOWARD WATER SECURITY

Abstract

Water shortage has become one of the most significant development, security and environmental issues in South Asia. The region has a population of almost a quarter of the global population yet very limited proportion of renewable freshwater resources that is produced in the year, which creates a structural imbalance between demand and supply. This paper reviews the causes, effects, and policy actions linked to water shortage in South Asia by summarizing emerging peer-reviewed literature and institutional evidence published primarily during the period between 2020 and 2025. Based on a qualitative document-analysis design, the article assesses the variability of climatic conditions, changes in glaciers and snowmelt, groundwater depletion, urban water consumption, industrial pollution, vulnerability of people-health, and transboundary rivers governance. The results reveal that scarcity in South Asia is not merely a hydrological shortfall, but also a governance and equity issue. Dependence on irrigation, exploitation of non-renewable groundwater, deteriorating municipal infrastructure, ineffective pollution management, and poor collaboration at the basin-wide level exacerbate water insecurity. The article claims that climate-resilient integrated water resources management, agricultural water-use reform, wastewater treatment and reuse, inclusive city water planning, and enhanced regional collaboration along the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra basins are durable solutions. The research adds a policy-based model of enhancing water security by harmonizing national reforms and diplomacy at the basin level.