Why in the News?

A recent UN report titled Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post Crisis Era, released by United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health on 20 January 2026, warns that the world has entered a phase of global water bankruptcy, severely impacting agriculture and food security.

What is Water Bankruptcy?

• A condition where long term water use exceeds renewable inflows and safe depletion limits
• Agriculture is no longer facing a temporary water crisis but operating beyond hydrological sustainability
• Rivers, lakes, aquifers, wetlands, soils and glaciers damaged beyond realistic recovery

Key Findings of the Report

• Agriculture and Water Use: ~70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals used for agriculture.Expansion of agricultural land is no longer viable
• Scale of Exposure:~3 billion people live in areas with declining or unstable water storage. More than half of global food production located in water stressed regions. 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland under high or very high water stress.
• Land and Soil Degradation: Over 50 percent of global agricultural land moderately or severely degraded. Global salinisation has degraded. 82 million hectares of rainfed cropland. 24 million hectares of irrigated cropland. Accelerates desertification and reduces soil moisture retention.

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