Countries With The Largest Fresh Water Resources

Except for seawater and brackish water, freshwater is any water that can be found naturally underground or in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, icebergs, and glaciers.

Precipitation from the atmosphere is known to be the main source of freshwater. As drought keeps striking the world, freshwater gets more and more scarce in most countries. Which will eventually lead to a drastic decline in agricultural produce and in the worst cases to global dehydration. 

Some countries won’t have to worry about these scenarios thanks to their huge freshwater reserves which will at least buy them more time before they suffer from drought or even dehydration. In this article, we will be mentioning countries with the biggest water resources and the importance of freshwater for countries. 

Economic Importance Of Water

Economic growth can be added to the numerous sectors that directly depend on the availability of fresh water. For instance, fisheries can grow thanks to freshwater sources. Fish from these habitats are harvested by people all over the world, providing enough animal protein to feed 158 million people worldwide. These fisheries provide local fishermen with a means of subsistence and traders with an income.

Freshwater is utilized in a variety of economic activities, including agriculture. About 70% of the world's freshwater is used for agriculture. Irrigation is used by farmers all over the world to bring water from surface and groundwater sources to their fields. These agrarian exercises affect more than 1 billion individuals overall and consistently create more than $2.4 trillion in monetary worth. 

As the world's population grows, so will the need for freshwater for agriculture. Studies estimate that demand for freshwater will rise by 50% by 2050. Access to freshwater will become even more crucial due to this increase in water consumption, which will further strain Earth's already limited freshwater resources.

Brazil

With approximately 8,233 cubic kilometers, Brazil has the most renewable freshwater resources. Brazil's freshwater supplies make up about 12% of the world's freshwater resources. Over 70% of Brazil's fresh water is located in the Amazon Region. 

Even though it has large water reserves, some regions in Brazil still struggle to have access to fresh water like Sao Paulo, one of Brazil's most populous regions, which is experiencing severe drought. In addition, poor neighborhoods still struggle to gain access to freshwater in urban areas.

Russia

Russia comes second in terms of freshwater resources with approximately 4,508 cubic kilometers. The sustainable new water bodies in Russia incorporate streams, lakes, and man-made supplies. 

Russia is home to Lake Baikal, the world's largest and deepest freshwater lake. About one-fifth of the world's freshwater is contained in Baikal. However, climate change has been gradually reducing the lake's volume.

United States Of America

In third place is the United States of America, where there are approximately 3,069 cubic kilometers of renewable freshwater resources. Surface water accounts for the majority of the country's freshwater resources. Surface water accounts for 77% of freshwater while underground water for the other 23%. 

Lakes make up the majority of the United States freshwater bodies. Rivers, ponds, and reservoirs are additional sources of fresh water. There is a huge number of lakes in the US, including lake Michigan.

Canada

Canada is fourth with approximately 2,902 cubic kilometers of renewable fresh water. The vast majority of fresh water in Canada comes from its numerous lakes and rivers. In addition, the rest of it stays either underground, in small ponds or glaciers.

The majority of the underground water is nonrenewable. Over 8 million people in Canada rely on the clean water found in lakes for their drinking water, and a quarter of the country's agriculture is supported by lakes.

With approximately 2,840 cubic kilometers, this quantity of renewable freshwater resources in China makes fifth in the world. China's largest freshwater lake is Poyang Lake, which is in the province of Jiangxi. The waters of the Xin, Xiu, and Gan rivers all flow into the lake. The lake's volume changes constantly depending on the season.

Many human populations lack access to safe, clean drinking water as a result of the unequal distribution of freshwater resources. In 2017, the United Nations estimated that 2.1 billion people worldwide lacked access to properly managed drinking water. Instead, they only had access to polluted water, which can carry diseases and pollution, that will eventually cause Diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and other diseases to people who drink it. More than 3 million people die each year due to a lack of access to safe drinking water.

Consequently, improving water supplies for developing nations is an important objective for international organizations. As a result of international efforts, 2.6 billion people worldwide gained access to improved water resources between 1990 and 2015. 

Nearly one billion people are the remaining human populations that do not have any access to clean water. Most of these people live in Asia and Africa.

Written by: Abderrahmane Loudiyi

Edited by: Nidhi Jha