World Water Day

  This UNU-INWEH report has argued that the world is already living beyond its hydrological means. Many human–water systems have moved from stress to crisis and into water bankruptcy: a persistent postcrisis state in which long-term water use has exceeded renewable inflows and safe depletion limits, and in which irreversible or effectively irreversible damages make full restoration of the old baselines and past conditions unattainable. Recognizing this reality is uncomfortable, but it is also empowering. It replaces false hope of a simple return to the old normal with a clear-eyed understanding of the choices that remain. It shifts the focus from reacting to each new drought, flood, or Day Zero as if it were an isolated emergency, to transforming the underlying relationships between societies and water . The way forward is not to abandon mitigation or crisis preparedness, but to embed them within a broader project of bankruptcy management: preventing further irreversible damage; ...

Foreword to the UN-Water Annual Report 2023  by Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Chair of UN-Water: "In a tumultuous year, the pivotal moment for the UN-Water family was the UN 2023 Water Conference in March – the first of its kind in a generation. Shortly after, and in response to the high expectations set by Member States, UN-Water released the milestone Blueprint for Acceleration: SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation 2023 in July. This report contains key policy recommendations on how to move forward and work better together to protect humanity’s most precious commodity. The ‘blueprint’ identifies two crucial needs: for Member States to develop a UN political process for water and for the UN syste m to better unify its water-related efforts to support Member States. On the first, in September 2023, Member States at the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that, among other things, established two UN...