Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era

This report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH) can help you to understand the global shift towards "water bankruptcy" and the need for effective, integrated, forward-looking action to protect water-related natural capital before damages become fully irreversible. The report argues that the world has entered a new - and unprecedented - stage of water pressure. Droughts, shortages, and pollution episodes are becoming chronic; rivers, lakes, and wetlands are degrading; glaciers are retreating at accelerating rates; and more and more river basins and aquifers are losing the ability to return to their historical “normal." Together, these deeply concerning trends signals a structural imbalance between water demand and available resources - a post-crisis condition the report refers to as "water bankruptcy."

The report explains the transition from a global water crisis to a state of water bankruptcy, and the distinctions between them, as well as what the new normal of this post-crisis era - one where the water system no longer rebounds - may look like. It also explains the need to evolve from crisis management to bankruptcy management, and core principles and actions for achieving it. It then makes the case for a fundamental shift in the global water agenda: a transition from repeatedly reacting to emergencies to “bankruptcy management," featuring transparent water accounting, enforceable limits, and protection of the water-related natural capital that produces and stores water (such as aquifers, wetlands, soils, rivers, and glaciers) while ensuring transitions are equity-oriented and protect communities. To achieve this, the report calls for recognition of the shift towards water bankruptcy and for effective, integrated, forward-looking action, including coordinated leadership and sustained investment.