On 20 January the United Nations University (UNU) published a report, drawing on a peer‑reviewed paper from its Institute for Water, Environment and Health (INWEH), that warns the world has entered an era of "global water bankruptcy." The report defines the term where both insolvency and irreversibility conditions exist: persistent over‑withdrawal of surface and groundwater beyond renewable inflows and safe limits, with systems that can no longer recover to historical levels.
The report gives several alarming figures: billions lack safe drinking water and nearly four billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month a year. Since the early 1990s, water levels have declined in more than half of the world’s large lakes, which nearly a quarter of people depend on. About half of domestic water and more than forty per cent of irrigation now rely on groundwater, while seventy per cent of major aquifers show long‑term decline. Some 410 million hectares of natural wetlands have been lost over the past five decades.
Lead author Kaveh Madani notes causes including long‑term groundwater depletion, land subsidence, loss of natural storage and desertification, worsened by weak governance, pollution and rising demand from agriculture and rapidly growing cities. The report lists regional hotspots across North Africa and the Middle East, parts of Asia, northern China, the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, southern Europe and the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of Australia. It criticises chronic overallocation of water, uncapped groundwater access and subsidies that encourage overuse.
UNU also highlights food risks: more than half of global food production is concentrated in areas with declining or unstable water storage, which can cause supply shocks, price volatility and political stress. Experts call for a shift from only restoring supply to managing water within limits, including investments in water‑use efficiency, irrigation modernisation, drought‑risk planning, climate‑resilient infrastructure, treated wastewater and demand management supported by fair finance for affected communities.
Difficult words
- insolvency — state of not having enough water
- irreversibility — condition that cannot return to before
- over‑withdrawal — taking water beyond natural renewable supply
- groundwater — water stored beneath the earth surface
- aquifer — underground layer that holds groundwateraquifers
- subsidence — sinking of the land surface over time
- overallocation — allocating more water than is sustainable
- desertification — land becoming drier and less productive
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Discussion questions
- Which recommended measures (for example, irrigation modernisation or treated wastewater) do you think would be most effective in your country or region, and why?
- How could groundwater depletion and loss of wetlands affect food supply and local economies where you live? Give examples or possible consequences.
- What political or social barriers might make it hard to reduce subsidies and uncapped groundwater access in affected areas?
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