Countries and Regions

Overview

Information on quantity and quality of freshwater and its availability and use is essential for sustainable development. Considering that a major share of the world's water resources is used for agricultural production, and water development plays a key role in increasing food production and achieving food security, information on agricultural water use has assumed greater importance. Reliable data are also required for joint management of internationally shared water resources. The "thirst" for water data is ever increasing and there is indeed considerable demand for data on rural water use from national governments and development agencies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations initiated an activity in 1993 to meet this demand with particular focus on irrigation. This resulted in the AQUASTAT Programme, the objective of which is to generate rural water use data at country and subcountry level in a systematic manner. It was decided to give priority to the countries of the African continent, in view of the urgent need to promote irrigation development for food security in most countries of the continent.

The 53 countries of the African continent were surveyed in 1994-95, which resulted in FAO Water Report 7 "Irrigation in Africa in Figures". In 1995-96 the Near East region, which concentrates most of the complex water allocation issues of the world, was surveyed, resulting in FAO Water Report 9 "Irrigation in the Near East Region in Figures". In 1997, the 15 countries of the Former Soviet Union were surveyed and FAO Water Report 15 "Irrigation in the countries of the Former Soviet Union in Figures" was published. In 1998-99 a fourth series of countries were surveyed, covering the countries of Asia not included in the two previous reports on the Near East (Water Report 9) and on the former Soviet Union (Water Report 15). This resulted in Water Report 18 "Irrigation in Asia in figures". Water Report 20 "Irrigation in Latin America and the Caribbean" came out in 2000. In 2005, 10 years after the first survey, the African continet was updated, which resulted in Water Report 29 "Irrigation in Africa in figures: AQUASTAT Survey - 2005".

Purpose and methodology

The purpose of the country survey programme is threefold:

  • to provide for every country the most accurate status of rural water resources management, with a special focus on irrigation, by featuring major characteristics, trends, constraints and prospective changes on irrigation and on water resources;
  • to support continental and regional analyses by providing systematic, up-to-date and reliable information on the status of water resources and of agricultural water management that can serve as a tool for regional planning and predictive studies;
  • to prepare a series of chronological data in order to highlight the major changes that occur over time on national, regional, continental and global scales.

To obtain the most reliable information possible, the survey is organized as follows:

  1. Overview of the bibliography and of the existing information at country level.
  2. Collection of information by country using a detailed questionnaire filled in by national consultants, international consultants, or the AQUASTAT Team at FAO.
  3. Compilation and critical analysis of the information collected using data-processing software developed for this survey, and selection of the most reliable information.
  4. Preparation of country profiles and submission to national authorities responsible for water resources or water management for verification, correction and approval.
  5. Preparation of the final country profile, the tables and the figures presenting information by country.
  6. Updating the on-line database.
  7. Preparation of the general regional analysis, the figures and the regional tables.

A schematic overview of the methodology is given here.

Where possible, AQUASTAT makes use of national capacity and competence. While collecting the information by country, preference is given to national consultants as they have a better knowldege of their own country and easier access to national documents.

Data collection, processing and reliability

The main sources of information are:

  • national water policies, water resources and irrigation master plans;
  • national reports, yearbooks and statistics;
  • reports from FAO and other projects;
  • international surveys;
  • results and publications from national and international research centres.
  • the Internet.

Furthermore, the following sources systematically provide certain data:

  • FAOSTAT. This is the only source used for variables of area (total, arable and permanent crops) and population (total, rural, urban, female, male, en economically active). FAOSTAT data are provided every year by the countries through the FAO representation.
  • World Development Indicators. This database is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data on development. This source provides the data on gross domestic product (GDP) and the contribution of agriculture to the GDP.
  • The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for water supply and sanitation. This is a joint programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Chrildre's Fund (UNICEF), providing data on access to improved water sources.
  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This provides the data on the Human Development Index (HDI).

In total, more than 50 variables have been selected and are presented in the national tables attached to each country profile. They are ordered in categories corresponding to the various sections of the country profiles: characteristics of the country and population; water: resources and use; and irrigation and drainage. A detailed description of each variable is given in the online database. Additional tables are added to the country profiles where information is available, especially in order to specify regional or river basin data.

In most cases, a critical analysis of the information is required in order to ensure the general coherence of information collected for a given country. Where several sources result in divergent or contradictory information, preference is given to information collected at national or sub-national level rather than at regional or world levels. Moreover, except in the case of evident errors, official sources are privileged. As regerds shared water resources, the comparison of information between countries makes it possible to verify and complete the data concerning the flows of transboudary rivers and to ensure consistency at river-basin level.

Nevertheless, the accuracy, reliability and frequency with which information is collectd vary considerably according to the region, the country and the category of information. These considerations are discussed in the country profiles.


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