In Latin America, water is more tightly linked to human potential and economic competitiveness than in any other part of the world. The region has roughly 31 percent of the planet´s freshwater resources, while holding only 8 percent of its population. This huge water advantage enables Latin America to get a 68 percent of all its electricity from hydroelectric sources, compared to a global average of less than 16 percent.
The region’s key commodity exports—in agriculture and mining—depend on extraordinary quantities of water. Around half the world´s beef exports, and nearly two thirds of all soya, now come Latin America, where they are produced cheaply thanks to abundant rain.
But in recent years severe droughts have turned this water advantage into a stark vulnerability. In 2008 Argentina lost 1.5 million head of cattle and nearly half its wheat crop to drought, while hydroelectric output in the most populous part of Chile plunged by 34 percent.
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