Antonio Collados Lara
Senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME-CSIC)
The report makes a compelling central argument: the world has entered an era of global water bankruptcy.
The report provides a series of pieces of evidence to support this argument:
- Surface waters and associated aquatic ecosystems are collapsing.
- Overexploited and depleted aquifers and associated land subsidence.
- Significant reduction in the cryosphere.
- Agriculture at risk due to soil degradation and salinisation of water and soil.
- Droughts exacerbated by human activity through overexploitation, deforestation, soil degradation and climate change.
- Water pollution that renders much of the available water unfit for human or agricultural use.
The main message conveyed is that we must stop talking about water stress or water crises, concepts that imply a possible recovery of water systems and associated ecosystems. In many cases, this recovery is no longer possible, as the damage is irreversible.
The concept of 'water bankruptcy' is closely related to the overexploitation of water resources, which is a term commonly used in the field of hydrology, as in both cases it refers to a situation of excessive water use beyond renewable resources. However, the term 'bankruptcy' emphasises the irreversibility of the damage. This is very important when it comes to raising awareness in society of the global problem associated with water.
Furthermore, introducing an economic simile such as 'bankruptcy' to talk about water highlights the need to value water as it is a fundamental resource for life on our planet. Until now, from an economic point of view, other natural resources such as oil have been valued more highly, to the point of 'coining' new currencies such as petrodollars. Perhaps in the future we will have to do the same with water due to global problems related to its scarcity and poor quality. This is the scenario that this report seeks to avoid by calling for a renewed global agenda for water management.