The Age of Water Bankruptcy – Victims, Perpetrators and Processes.
The world will begin to feel the consequences of “living beyond its hydrological means”, as rivers fail to meet the sea, and the lakes shrink and disappear.
A recent report from the UN Institute for Water, Environment and Health announced we have entered an age of ‘water bankruptcy’. The language of ‘crisis’ and ‘stress’ is no longer adequate to describe the situation, instead we are in a “post-crisis failure state” where “baselines can no longer be restored”. Our water pollution and consumption levels have outpaced renewable inflows and safe depletion thresholds. The world will begin to feel the consequences of “living beyond its hydrological means”, as rivers fail to meet the sea, lakes shrink and disappear, aquifers are pumped to the point of salt intrusion and dry forests are set ablaze.
Importantly, the burden of this bankruptcy falls disproportionately. It is those who are the most vulnerable and the least culpable left to pay the price: low-income households, people of colour, women, and young people. After examining how this burden is shared, we will also explore how it was created and the mechanisms by which it is shifted onto the disadvantaged.
