The Philippines may suffer from $124 billion (P7.01 trillion) worth of losses due to droughts, floods and storms between 2022 and 2050, according to a study made by a global technical services firm.
In a study called Aquanomics released by GHD, the group warned that the amount is equivalent to an average annual gross domestic product loss of 0.7 percent, with the agricultural and retail sectors to be hit the hardest.
It added that storms are expected to have the greatest direct impact on the Philippine economy at $47 billion, followed by floods at $42 billion and droughts at $3 billion, for the period.
GHD said with three million Filipinos currently relying on unsafe water sources and another seven million lacking access to improved sanitation, water supply and sanitation services, the government must pour efforts on water recycling, desalination and smarter irrigation.
“By focusing on economic impacts, as we have done with this study, we aim to help identify and unlock the social and environmental benefits of tackling water risk head-on. As well as highlighting risk, this study explores some of the ways in which our focus countries can adapt to change and build resilience in their water systems. With water risk on the rise, we need to adopt a proactive, holistic and inclusive approach in understanding and addressing fast-developing challenges,” Rod Naylor, global water lead of GHD, said in a statement.
Amid the warning, the study said investment needs to be targeted to building infrastructure in the right areas and working with nature to channel water away in order to manage flood risks which may be a challenge on retrofitting solutions in densely populated urban areas.
GHD added that levels of water pollution in the Philippines is “very high” due to a lack of wastewater treatment, affecting the health of communities and ecosystems. Likewise, the study pointed out that major infrastructure and population centers are located on coastal plains and are exposed to flooding and storm events.
The group also mentioned that since around 20 typhoons enter the country every year, the Philippines is ranked the fourth most affected country in the world when it comes to water-related disasters and as global warming intensifies, extreme weather events are expected to increase, resulting in greater water risk to the country.
GHD said only a minority of the population has multiple options to avoid such risks as adaptation options are limited due to lack of resources. –Jed Macapagal
