As the UN Water Conference is underway in New York, new research lays bare the grave injustice at the heart of the global water crisis — that the richest people on earth are exploiting the water needed by the poorest.
Data from Water Witness International’s report shows that the “water footprints” of countries in the global north are leaving aquifers drained, rivers polluted, and communities less able to cope with climate change — also caused by the world’s higher-income nations, many of whom have cut international aid for water.
Half of the global water use from rivers and aquifers to supply the food and goods consumed by high-income economies is from unsustainable sources — including from regions facing severe water scarcity.