Human activity has caused “irreversible damage” to the world’s water systems, pushing the planet into what experts describe as an era of “global water bankruptcy”, according to a new United Nations report.
The warning comes in a report by the United Nations University (UNU), which says decades of deforestation, pollution, soil degradation, excessive water use and long-term groundwater depletion have severely weakened the Earth’s water supply. These impacts are being intensified by global heating.
The report says the scale and persistence of the damage mean older terms such as “water stress” and “water crisis” no longer reflect the current situation. It warns that water shortages are now driving fragility, displacement and conflict in many parts of the world.
The authors define “water bankruptcy” as the long-term overuse of surface water and groundwater beyond what can be naturally renewed, combined with irreversible or extremely costly losses to water-related ecosystems. This is different from water stress, which can still be reversed, or a water crisis, which usually refers to short-term shocks.
The report’s lead author, Kaveh Madani, Director of the UN’s water and environment think tank, says not every country or river basin is water-bankrupt. However, he says enough critical systems have crossed these limits to change global risks.
He explains that water systems are linked through trade, migration, climate effects and geopolitics. As a result, damage in one region can create consequences far beyond its borders.
The report says water bankruptcy is not about whether a place looks dry or wet. Even regions that flood regularly can be water-bankrupt if they use more water each year than nature can replace.
Agriculture is identified as the largest user of freshwater worldwide. Because global food systems are closely connected, water shortages that reduce farming in one area can affect food prices, markets and political stability elsewhere.
Using global datasets and recent scientific evidence, the report presents a detailed picture of water decline. It says about half of the world’s large lakes have lost water since the early 1990s. Around one quarter of the global population depends directly on these lakes.
Dozens of major rivers now fail to reach the sea for parts of the year. Over the past 50 years, around 410 million hectares of natural wetlands have been lost, an area nearly the size of the European Union.
The report also finds that global glacier loss has increased by 30 per cent since the 1970s. Soil salinisation has damaged about 100 million hectares of farmland, while 70 per cent of major aquifers show long-term decline.
The authors say most of these changes are driven by human activity rather than natural variation.
The report argues that the current global water agenda is no longer sufficient. It says policies remain too focused on drinking water, sanitation and efficiency, without addressing the deeper structural damage to water systems.
It calls for a reset of global water policy that formally recognises water bankruptcy, treats water as both a limit and an opportunity in meeting climate targets, and introduces global monitoring of water-system decline.
Governments are urged to reduce pollution, protect wetlands, and support communities whose livelihoods must change as water use becomes unsustainable. The report highlights agriculture as a key sector in need of transformation.
Without action, it warns that the impacts will fall most heavily on small-scale farmers, Indigenous communities, low-income urban residents, women and young people.
UN under-secretary-general Tshilidzi Marwala says water bankruptcy is increasingly linked to instability and conflict. He says managing it fairly, and protecting vulnerable groups, is essential for maintaining peace, social cohesion and long-term stability.