US EditionEra of ‘global water bankruptcy’ is here, UN report says
The UN report shows 3 billion people and over half of global food production depend on declining water resources, urging a shift to managing water bankruptcy globally.
- On Tuesday, United Nations University researchers released a flagship report published Jan. 20, 2026, saying the world has entered an era of global water bankruptcy.
- Decades of human-driven overuse—including groundwater depletion, pollution, and deforestation—have pushed major river basins, lakes, and aquifers past recovery, while agriculture consumes about 70% of freshwater.
- Nearly 4 billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month each year, and 2.2 billion lack safely managed drinking water.
- The report calls for a shift from crisis response to bankruptcy management, urging social protections and farmer support while warning that cutting supplies to the poor will fail and cause displacement and conflict.
- About 3 billion people and more than half of global food production are in regions where water storage is declining, Madani said, warning of cascading threats to food security and markets.
189 Articles
189 Articles
Whoever controls the rivers controls the future – warns the United Nations.
A new United Nations (UN) report confirms that the world's water systems have passed the crisis phase and entered a state of widespread and lasting collapse.
UN Scientists Call for Reset of Global Water Agenda Amid Water Bankruptcy
The Astana Times provides news and information from Kazakhstan and around the world. ASTANA – The United Nations University (UNU) released an article on Jan. 20 about the dawn of an era of global water bankruptcy, formally defining a new post-crisis reality for billions. Photo credit: gettyimages.com Amid chronic groundwater depletion, water overallocation, land and soil degradation, deforestation, and pollution, all compounded by global heating…
Common Dreams
Other News - Voices against the tideHow Do We Manage a World in Water Bankruptcy?
A new UN report finds that the world is in a state of water bankruptcy from depleting natural reserves and must work to manage water use in a fair way.
Global water bankruptcy is already an irreversible reality in many regions of the planet, according to a UN report that warns of freshwater losses that can never be recovered. The report argues that many regions are exceeding their hydrological limits, leading to the collapse of critical water systems and fundamentally transforming the global picture of risks related to freshwater availability. The most affected areas include the Middle East, No…
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