The world is facing an impending water crisis that could have devastating consequences for billions of people, according to a stark new report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.
The research reveals that nearly three-quarters of the global population reside in nations deemed “water insecure” or “critically water insecure”, with four billion individuals enduring severe water scarcity for at least one month each year. This crisis is being driven by decades of unsustainable water extraction, which has depleted vital water reserves in aquifers, glaciers, soils, and river ecosystems, while also degrading water quality through pollution.
“Many regions are living beyond their hydrological means, and many critical water systems are already bankrupt,” warned Kaveh Madani, the lead author of the report and director of the UN institute. “By acknowledging the reality of water bankruptcy, we can finally make the hard choices that will protect people, economies and ecosystems.”
The report paints a grim picture, with more than 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland facing high or very high water stress, and the economic damage from land degradation, groundwater depletion, and climate change amounting to over $300 billion per year globally. Three billion people and more than half of global food production are concentrated in areas already facing unstable or declining water storage levels, while salinisation has degraded more than 100 million hectares of farmland.
Researchers emphasise that the current approach to solving water problems is no longer fit for purpose, and a new “global water agenda” is needed to minimise the damage. However, some experts argue that the report fails to adequately address a key driver of the crisis: rapid and uneven population growth.
“The elephant in the room, which is mentioned explicitly only once, is the role of massive and uneven population growth in driving so many of the manifestations of water bankruptcy,” said Jonathan Paul, a geoscience professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.
As the world grapples with the devastating impacts of climate change, this alarming report serves as a wake-up call for urgent action to address the looming water crisis and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.
