Water Shortage and Role of Biotechnology

Abstract

Water shortage is a critical and widespread problem all over the world. Water scarcity is commonly classified into two types: economic scarcity, which occurs when there is insufficient water infrastructure, and physical scarcity, which occurs when there is a paucity of water due to regional ecological circumstances. In Sub-Saharan Africa, millions lack access to clean water, with regions like the Sahel and the Horn of Africa facing severe droughts exacerbated by climate change. Similarly, in North Africa, countries such as Egypt and Morocco are heavily dependent on overused water resources like the Nile River. The Middle East is among the most water-stressed regions, with homeland such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen grappling with severe shortages due to arid climates, growing populations, and regional water disputes. Pakistan wastes one-third of the planet’s water supply, placing it at number 14 out of 17 “extremely high-water risk” countries. Over 80% of the nation’s population suffers from “severe water scarcity.” In 1962, there were 5229 m[[sup]]3[[/sup]] of water per person in Pakistan; today, there are only 1187. Furthermore, Pakistan has one of the lowest wastewater treatment rates in the world, treating just 1% of wastewater. Due to the availability of healthy and plentiful soil, Pakistan’s arid region—which includes the majority of the districts in the interior provinces of Sindh and Southern Punjab—has enormous potential for agricultural development. The major drawback, though, is that these regions frequently experience extremely high temperatures, little rainfall, and a lack of irrigation water. Plants that are under water stress experience osmotic stress, which lowers their rate of vegetative growth and leaf expansion, speeds up senescence and abscission, and sometimes causes them to spread their roots farther in an attempt to find water. Prolonged drought stress results in a decrease in antioxidant enzymes, such as ascorbate, peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidases, which lower crop performance. Crop water scarcity increases the synthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene, a hormone that inhibits growth, which lowers plant productivity and growth. Numerous strategies particularly development and cultivation of less water requiring cultivars have been developed to cope with water shortage. A new sustainable method that helps plants survive water scarcity is the isolation of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and their use as bioinoculants. The stated PGPR synthesize growth hormones, such as gibberellins, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC) deaminase, exopolysaccharides, cytokinin, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), which boost crop yield, root proliferation, water and nutrient uptake, and cell protection against water stress. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.