A water crisiscould lie ahead for Asiannations, says a report by theManila-based InternationalRice Research Institute. Theshortage of water could havetwin effects: a severe shortfallin rice production and a possible social conflict as competition hots up amongindustries, urban consumersand farmers in Asia fordwindling supplies ofwater.
New varieties of rice -once hailed as the great newhope of Asia - may not beable to bail out the continentfrom the crisis. The futureseems to lie with the development of techniques thatproduce more rice withless water. "In the future,conflicting demands willincreasingly be felt betweenthe need for safe drinkingwater, sanitation and industrial activities, particularly infast-growing urban centres, 11says the report. Asian coun-tries have tried to find theirown answers to such varyingdemands. The two mostpopulous countries in eastAsia - China and Indonesia- are planning measures toslow the conversion of productive agricultural land toindustrial and urban use.