World Water Day

Communications should be a two-way exchange. ‘Questions people ask’ is a new feature where we answer some of the questions we get asked about important issues, such as, climate change , water scarcity , toilet equity and wastewater . Through responding to queries from our audiences, we aim to explain key issues in a clear and engaging way that fosters ongoing conversations. Questions people ask

Globally, Water Use efficiency (WUE) rose from 17.47 USD/m3 in 2015 to 21.50 USD/m3 in 2022, marking a 23 percent efficiency increase (Figure 15). Oceania and Europe and Northern America remained the most water efficient regions, with WUE levels of 71.71 USD/m3 and 54.64 USD/ m3 , respectively (Figure 16). However, Eastern, Central and Southern Asia recorded the highest growth in WUE between 2015 and 2022, with increases of 51.32 percent, 46.25 percent and 34.13 percent respectively. In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a slight decline in WUE, decreasing by 0.47 percent over the same period. At the sectoral level, agriculture exhibited the lowest  Water Use Efficiency (WUE)  among economic sectors. In 2022, the global average WUE for agriculture was 0.69 USD/m3 , significantly lower than that of the industrial sector (38.43 USD/m3 ) and the service sector (114.45 USD/m3 ). However, agriculture recorded the largest improvement in Water Use Efficiency ove...

 In 2022, global water stress levels reached 18 percent. However, there were many regional variations. Northern Africa and Southern Asia displayed critical levels of water stress at 121 percent and 76.7 percent respectively, and high levels of water stress were observed in Central Asia (70.2 percent) and Western Asia (65.1 percent) placing enormous pressure on people, economies and ecosystems. Conversely, Europe and North America (12.3 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (5.7 percent), Oceania (3.2 percent), South-eastern Asia (20.6 percent) and sub-Saharan Africa (6.3 percent) presented low levels of water stress. An upward trend in water stress levels was observed since 2015 in some regions, with Northern Africa, Western Asia and Oceania experiencing the most significant increases, rising by 15.6 percent, 12.9 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively, between 2015 and 2022. In contrast, Central Asia recorded a notable decrease, with water stress falling from 76.8 percent in...

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...

  Water shortages consistently rank among the global risks of greatest concern to policy-makers and business leaders. In a survey of 525 investors with US$96 trillion in assets, 45% reported exposure to substantive risks from water insecurity – risks that threaten their reputation and license to operate, the security of their water supply chains , their financial stability, and their ability to grow. Among the companies reporting exposure, the combined business value at risk topped out at US$425 billion with about 40% of the risks anticipated to hit within the next 1–3 years. The World Bank estimated that regions affected by water scarcity could see their growth rates decline by as much as 6% of GDP by 2050 as a result of losses in agriculture, health, income and property – sending them into sustained negative growth

  Significant values can be attributed to ecosystem services that relate to supporting resilienceor reducing risks. In 2019, environment-related risks accounted for three of the top five risks by likelihood and four of the top five by impact. Most disaster risks and costs are water-related . The value of nature’s contribution to people outstrips other economic values. One estimate of the notional economic value of nature’s contribution to people was US$125 trillion per year in 2011, around two-thirds higher than global GDP at that time. Only the water-related services provided by nature are valued at US$29 trillion per year (Costanza et al., 2014). The costs of inaction, in terms of ecosystem loss and degradation, are high. As reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “between 1997 and 2011, the world lost an estimated US$4–20 trillion per year in ecosystem services owing to land cover change and US$6–11 trillion per year from land degradation. By 20...

  In 2017, 5.3 billion people (71% of the global population) used a safely managed drinking water service – one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination. 3.4 billion people (or 45% of the global population) used safely managed sanitation services – an improved toilet or latrine that is not shared, from which excreta are safely disposed of in situ or treated off-site. Each year, it is estimated that approximately 829,000 people die from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking water , sanitation and hand hygiene. These causes represent 60% of all deaths due to diarrhoea globally, including nearly 300,000 children under the age of five, 5.3% of all deaths in this age group.  Poor sanitation and hygiene , as well as unsafe drinking water, cause diarrhoeal disease and environmental enteropathy, which inhibit nutrient absorption, resulting in undernutrition. Roughly 50% of all malnutrition is associated with repeated diarrhoea or intestinal worm inf...