Fresh water represents less than 3% of total water on Earth, and of that percentage only a fraction is accessible for human and ecosystem use, which underlines its strategic importance in the face of population growth and climate change. Freshwater sources—including glaciers, underground aquifers, and large surface bodies—are essential for the development of agriculture, industry, public health, and biodiversity, but their distribution is uneven and vulnerable to global overexploitation and pollution.
Latin America is home to a significant proportion of the planet’s water resources. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The American continent concentrates about 45% of the world’s renewable freshwater reserves.a natural capital of incalculable value in a global context marked by water stress and the scarcity of drinking water in numerous regions.
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DONALD TRUMP AND THE INVASION OF VENEZUELA | THE TRUTH IN DEPTH WITH PEDRO SALINAS
What is the largest water reserve in Latin America and key in the world?
Among the most important freshwater reservoirs in Latin America and the planet is the Guarani Aquifer System (SAG)considered one of the largest underground aquifers in the world. This vast geological formation is composed of layers of highly permeable sandstone that store water that has infiltrated over thousands of years, providing a source of high-quality water with low salinity and minimal natural impurities.
The Guarani Aquifer covers approximately 1.1 – 1.2 million square kilometers beneath the surface of South America and is estimated to contain nearly 30,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water, positioning it as the third largest freshwater reserve in the world after large ice masses and continental aquifers such as the Ogallala in the United States.
What are the 4 countries in Latin America with one of the largest water reserves on Earth?
The Guaraní Aquifer System extends under the territories of four Latin American countries, which share both the responsibility for its management and the benefits of its water resources:
- Brazil: It has the largest extension of the aquifer within its territory, being essential for urban, agricultural and industrial supply.
- Argentina: uses part of the aquifer for water supply and productive activities, connecting with surface water bodies.
- Paraguay: The Guaraní Aquifer is one of the main water resources for rural communities and agricultural production.
- Uruguay: although its portion is smaller, it is essential for human consumption, irrigation and thermal uses.
Other countries in the world with large reserves of fresh water
In addition to underground reserves such as the Guaraní Aquifer, countries with vast renewable freshwater resources are mainly located in regions with large hydrographic basins and lake systems. According to recent data from international organizations, Brazil tops the list with the largest volume of renewable freshwater resources in the world, largely thanks to the Amazon River and its tributaries, followed by nations with extensive lakes and rivers such as Russia and Canada.
Countries such as the United States and China are also among the top countries for their availability of renewable freshwater, derived from large lake systems (such as the Great Lakes in North America) and significant river basins (such as the Yangtze in China). The abundance of these resources provides socioeconomic advantages, but also management challenges in the face of the growing demand for water for urban, agricultural and industrial uses.
The only country in South America that would run out of water in 2040
Chile is projected as the most vulnerable country in South America in the face of the water crisis, with estimates that place it among the 25 nations with the greatest global water stress by the year 2040. This alarming decrease in freshwater reserves is not an isolated phenomenon, but the result of a critical combination between climate change, the overexploitation of basins and the alteration of rain cycles. While the Andean region—including Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador—faces climate instability accentuated by phenomena such as El Niño, the international outlook suggests that a fifth of the world’s countries will suffer serious supply disruptions over the coming decades.
Technically, water stress manifests itself when human and environmental consumption exceeds the renewal capacity of natural sources, or when the annual supply per person falls below 1,700 cubic meters. This critical threshold, also conditioned by the quality of the resource, reflects a reality that will soon affect powers such as the United States, China and India. However, the case of Chile and its neighbors stands out for the speed of deterioration, underlining the urgency of managing a resource whose availability can no longer be guaranteed in the face of increasing meteorological irregularity and the pressure of current demand.
