Overview
- UNU-INWEH documents long-term declines across major systems, with over half of large lakes losing water since the 1990s, about 70% of major aquifers in sustained decline, wetlands shrinking by roughly 410 million hectares, and glaciers down more than 30% since 1970.
- Human impacts are already vast, with approximately 1.8 billion people experiencing drought in 2022–2023 and around 4 billion facing shortages at least one month each year, with many countries classified as water insecure.
- Hotspots flagged include the Middle East, North Africa, parts of South Asia, and the U.S. Southwest, where the Colorado River and its reservoirs illustrate chronic over-allocation.
- The report links water losses to food insecurity and geopolitical risk, noting agriculture consumes the majority of freshwater and that growing deficits drive fragility, displacement, and conflict.
- UNU urges formal recognition of 'water bankruptcy' and structural reforms, including revising extraction rights, transforming agriculture, improving monitoring and pollution control, protecting recharge areas, and strengthening multilateral governance, as some national experts stress region-specific implementation.