Global Water Crisis

“…for far too many people, access to water is a daily struggle for survival. The search for water and the consequences of its scarcity is carried disproportionately by women and children. Lack of water causes death and daily violence. Climate change is exacerbating cycles of drought and flood, which are having profound impacts on the lives and livelihoods of people… This is already resulting in displacement and armed conflicts. Water stress is inextricably linked to food insecurity, waterborne diseases, forced migration, conflicts, infant mortality, and violence and discrimination against girls and women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2.2 billion people, more than a quarter of the global population, lack safe water and sanitation…”

Toure, Benson and Karunananthan, 2021

Water Access and Availability

Around the world, nearly 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 3.5 billion to improved sanitation. Over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which will continue to intensify due to climate change and climate related disasters, 90% of which are water related.

Every day, billions of people around the world suffer and millions die because they cannot access clean, safe water. For example, more than 1 million people, mostly young children, die from preventable diarrhea contracted from drinking unsafe water every year.

Most historical spending on water infrastructure, services and management—including in countries where water and sanitation are available to all—has been public, and this remains the case. Countless numbers of urban and rural communities around the world, passed over by public and private water utilities, also continue their long held practices of community water management.

Learn more about Public and Community Water Alternatives

Nonetheless, over the past four decades, efforts to achieve universal access to water and sanitation led by global water governance and development institutions have insisted on private sector solutions to water crises, pressures which have intensified amidst widespread austerity.

Privatization and Corporate Influence

Around the world, private companies and free market ideologies are threatening to increase water disparity, further impoverish the water poor, and entrench continued abuse of our natural water systems.

Water services, resources and ecosystems are increasingly under threat from the impacts of climate change and profit-hungry corporations and financial actors which seek to profit from water amidst multiple interrelated crises.

These powerful influences can be seen in international institutions like the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, multi-stakeholder governance platforms like the World Water Forum, international financial institutions like the World Bank and regional development banks, and in national and local governments.

Learn more about Water Privatization and Corporate Capture

Water and Climate Change

The clear links between water and climate change are growing more apparent every day. As increased greenhouse gas emissions continue to pollute our planet’s atmosphere, we are seeing the ravages that result: floods, droughts, melting polar ice caps, altered coastlines, and extreme weather conditions, among others. Global fresh water sources are limited, and mismanagement and corporate misuse continues to over-extract, pollute and squander water threatens to dry up the world’s resources.

The Blue Planet Project raises awareness about the link between the growing threats of climate change and the deepening water crisis. We have brought global water justice voices to United Nations water and climate conferences and negotiations and pressed governments for binding commitments on emission reductions. We continue to tell the stories of people whose very lives are in danger without access to clean, safe water. We demand that governments and international institutions not only recognize the impacts of climate change on our water resources, but act immediately on solutions that will protect water for future generations.

Learn more about the Climate-Water Nexus