This report addresses the escalating global water crisis characterized by continental drying—the long-term decline in freshwater availability across large landmasses—highlighting trends, causes, and impacts on jobs, the economy, and the planet. It presents a comprehensive strategy and policy action road map focused on demand management, supply augmentation, and improved water allocation to address the water crisis.
Click to read the full reportKey findings
• Global freshwater reserves, including the total amount of water stored above ground and in aquifers, have declined at an annual rate of 324 billion m3 —enough to meet the annual water needs of 280 million people—over the past two decades. The median basin-level reduction in freshwater is equivalent to about 3 percent of the annual renewable freshwater supply across all basins and 10 percent in arid basins already expericing drying.
• Although most of the world’s dry areas continue to get drier and its wet areas continue to get wetter, dry areas are drying at a faster rate than wet areas are wetting, creating continental-scale megadrying regions.
• Global warming, worsening droughts, and unsustainable water and land use all contribute to the reduction in global freshwater reserves.
Key findings
• Water scarcity significantly affects jobs and income. Between 2005 and 2018, droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa left 600,000–900,000 people jobless each year, a range equivalent to 7–10 percent of annual job creation in the region.
• Drying worsens the negative impact of warming on agricultural productivity. In the long term, the combined effects of drying and warming could push societies toward a tipping point where damage accelerates rapidly and adaptation becomes increasingly difficult.
• Beyond connections throughout the physical hydrological system, increased agricultural trade amplifies water dependencies among countries, transforming local water scarcity and water mismanagement into a collective global risk.
• The reduction in terrestrial water storage significantly raises the probability and intensity of wildfires worldwide. Global biodiversity hot spots are particularly sensitive to drying-induced wildfires.
Key findings
• Global water consumption rose by 25% from 2000 to 2019, with about one-third of this increase occurring in regions experiencing drying.
• In drying regions, significant inefficiencies persist — about onequarter of rainfed and one-third of irrigated crop water consumption are below global median efficiency levels.
• Improving the water use efficiency of inefficient producers of key crops to the global median level could lower irrigation water consumption by 137 billion cubic meters—equivalent to the annual water needs of 118 million people. The largest savings potential globally would be observed in South Asia and in the production of wheat and rice.
• Virtual water trade—the exchange of water embedded in traded agricultural and industrial commodities—has contributed to substantial annual global water savings, equivalent to 9.4 percent of global water consumption of 35 key crops. Eliminating distortions in agricultural input and output markets, boosting the efficiency of exporters, and integrating sustainable water management practices into trade agreements can further enhance the benefits of virtual water trade.
Key findings
• This chapter outlines a three-pronged approach to address and adapt to the challenges posed by continental drying. First, prioritize effective water demand-side management by adopting water-efficient technologies, establishing water abstraction limits, and implementing public awareness campaigns to encourage behavior change. Second, augment water supply through measures such as water recycling and reuse, desalination, and water storage. Third, improve water allocation to ensure that scarce water resources are distributed fairly and efficiently in an increasingly drying world.
• Five cross-cutting levers are needed to create an enabling environment for the effective implementation of this approach. These levers are strengthening institutions, reforming tariffs and repurposing subsidies, adopting water accounting, leveraging data and technological innovations, and valuing water in trade. These levers are also critical for mobilizing private finances and expertise for sustainable water management.
• The framework presented in this chapter outlines actions in the water sector, with a particular emphasis on the agriculture sector, the largest water-consuming sector globally. However, as highlighted throughout this report, addressing trade barriers, investing in education and skills development, and improving access to markets and financial services are equally critical for strengthening job and livelihood resilience amid a continental drying crisis.
