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Global-Water-Crisis-The-Facts

Technical Report · January 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14415.02720

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GLOBAL WATER CRISIS:
THE FACTS

UNU-INWEH
© United Nations University
Institute for Water, Environment and Health

Authorship: Lisa Guppy and Kelsey Anderson

Contributing Authors: Mehta, P., Nagabhatla, N. and

Qadir, M.

Suggested Citation: Guppy, L., Anderson, K., 2017. Water

Crisis Report. United Nations University Institute for
Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton, Canada.

Cover image: Pixabay.com

Design: Kelsey Anderson (UNU-INWEH)

Download at: http://inweh.unu.edu

ISBN: 978-92-808-6083-2

UNU-INWEH is supported by the Government

of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.
 Executive Summary

Water is a foundation of life and livelihoods, and is key to sustainable development. Successful water manage-
ment will serve as a foundation for the achievement of many ofthe 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
as well as for SDG 6 - which is to ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’.

Despite this, water is becoming a pressing societal and geopolitical issue – in some regions, it is already of
critical national concern. ‘Business as usual’ will mean the world will miss water-related SDGs by a wide margin;
up to 40% of the world’s population will be living in seriously water-stressed areas by 2035; and the ability of
ecosystems to provide fresh water supplies will become increasingly compromised.

60% of fresh water comes from river basins that cross national borders. Transboundary water agreements need to
be robust enough to deal with increasingly uncertain environmental and climatic conditions, and the social and
demographic changes that will raise global population to 9.7 billion by 2050 and double the number of people
who live in urban areas.

Different conceptualisations of water can and have led to conflict. The perception of water as a human right and
a common public and environmental good is often opposed by the view of water as a commodity that needs
to be priced to ensure efficient and sustainable use. Not only nations but provinces and communities will need
to align water perspectives to allow for peaceful and effective integrated water resource management and
sustainable use.

Effective management will mean tackling neglected issues such as water wastage in current systems, which has
been estimated to be up to 30%; common institutional dysfunction, unethical practices, poor accountability, and
corruption in the water sectors of many countries.

This report highlights looming water crises from 6 inter-related contexts: water scarcity and insecurity, water-
related disasters, water, sanitation and health (WASH) crisis, water infrastructure deterioration and destruction,
unsustainable development, and ecosystem degradation.

UN agencies, governments and civil societies have made clear that radical new approaches to water are needed
to reverse these sobering water trends. Only by facing these crises in an intelligent and cohesive way will water
continue to support life, development and biodiversity for our children and our future.

UNU-INWEH 1
 112 million
people were affected by
floods 2005-2015

40% gap
1.8 billion
people now use a source
between water demand
and water available
of drinking water by 2030
contaminated by faeces

80% 30%
or more wastewater of global water
returns to the environment abstraction is lost through
without adequate leakage
treatment

US$114 billion per year

or more than 3 times the current level of capital investment is needed to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goal 6 targets on water supply, sanitation and hygiene (6.1 and 6.2). The amount of
money needed to meet the other targets of the “water goal” is currently unknown.

12.6 million
deaths

were attributable to the

environment globally in 2012

2 UNU-INWEH
 Water scarcity and insecurity

The notion that water is plentiful – it covers 70% of the planet – is false, as only 2.5% of all
40% gap water is freshwater. This limited resource will need to support a projected population of
9.7 billion in 2050; and by that date, an estimated 3.9 billion – or over 40% of the world’s
between water demand
and water available population - will live in severely water-stressed river basins².
by 2030¹

It is not just population that is pressuring water resources. Excessive use is also
evident: the global population tripled in the 20th century, but the use of water increased
six-fold³. Between now and 2050, water demands are expected to increase by 400% from
manufacturing, and by 130% from household use⁴.

As water availability decreases, competition for access to this limited resource will increase. 60% of all
surface fresh water comes from internationally shared river basins⁵ and there are an estimated 592 transboundary
aquifers. Continuing cooperation and coordination between nations is crucial to ensuring water is available for
human, economic and environmental needs. Although hundreds of international water agreements have been
signed over time⁶, how countries will cooperatively manage growing resource pressures so that they do not lead
to more conflicts over water is not often clear.

Water insecurity can be exacerbated by drought. More people are affected by drought than any other disaster
type. In 2016, 411 million people in total were affected by disasters and 94% of those were drought affected⁷.
Droughts are also the costliest disasters, with significant impacts on agriculture in particular; droughts cause an
average US$6–8 billion worth of losses in agriculture in the USA annually⁸. In China, drought has resulted in an
annual grain production loss of more than 27 million tons over the last two decades; and from the 1950s to the
beginning of this century, the annual average crop area suffering from drought has expanded from 11.6 million
hectares to 25.1 million hectares, an increase of 116%⁹.

If water were secured for irrigated agriculture, the potential global welfare gain for reduced risk in 2010
would have been US$94 billion. Findings also show that enhanced water security can help stabilise food crop
production and prices. In a water secure scenario, the probability of global wheat production falling below 650
million tons per year is reduced from 83% to 38%¹⁰.

There has been a By 2030, Water scarcity currently By 2050, an additional

affects more than
55% drop
global demand for
water is expected 2.3 billion
in globally
available fresh
to grow by 40% people can be expected to be living in
of the areas with severe waterstress, especially
water per capita
since 1960¹¹
50%¹² global
population¹³
in North and South Africa and South and
Central Asia¹⁴

Agriculture accounts for Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate Worldwide, the total cost of water
70% of all water
withdrawals
change, could cost some regions up to
6% of their GDP ¹⁷
insecurity to the global economy is
estimated at
globally and for over

90% in the The 5th assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on US$500 billion
majority of Least Climate Change (IPCC) projects that for each annually. Including environmental
impacts, this figure may rise to 1%
7%
Developed Countries
(LDCs)...¹⁵ degree of global warming, approximately of global gross domestic product
of the global population will be exposed to a (GDP)¹⁹
and 70% decrease of renewable
more food will be
needed by 2050¹⁶ water resources of at least 20%¹⁸

UNU-INWEH 3
 Water-related disasters

It is vital to protect investments in water-related infrastructure from shocks and

112 million stresses. In 2009, the World Bank estimated that by 2030, around half the Bank’s
people were affected by water sector portfolio – which was then US$8.8 billion committed and US$11.3 billion
floods 2005-2015²⁰ in pipeline – would be at high to medium risk of exposure to climate change impacts²¹.

In addition, hydrologic hazards are leading to significant deaths, displacements and

injuries. Up to 90% of all disasters are water-related, and over the last two decades,
floods have been the most frequent global natural disaster²²; in 2016, 50% of all
recorded events were related to flooding. The total value of all assets that are at risk from
flooding by 2050 is predicted to be US$45 trillion: a rise of over 340% from 2010²³.

Between 1970 and 2010 the world’s population increased by 87%, from 3.7 billion to 6.9 billion. During the same
period, the annual average population exposed to flood increased by 112% - from 33.3 to 70.4 million per year²⁴.

By 2050, rising populations in flood-prone lands, climate change, deforestation, loss of wetlands and rising sea
levels can be expected to increase the number of people vulnerable to flood disaster to 2 billion²⁵.

The UN was prompted to release warnings about urban flash floods after hundreds died in Guatemala, the USA
and southern France in 2015 – stating that under a changing climate, intense rainfall and urbanisation have made
these disasters more common in the last two decades²⁶.

Water-related ecosystems can mitigate water-related disasters. Every hectare of mangrove and coastal marsh is
worth up to US$15,161 a year in disaster-related services²⁷, and coastal wetlands helped to avoid more than $625
million in damages from Hurricane Sandy in 2012²⁸. Coral reefs act as wave barriers, and as an example of their
effectiveness in risk reduction, spending US$1 million a year on restoring reefs at the Folkestone Marine Park on
the west coast of Barbados could lower annual storm losses there by US$20 million²⁹.

Despite these risk reduction benefits, water-related ecosystems globally are in decline. In parts of Asia and the
Americas, up to half of all coastal mangrove ecosystems have been degraded or destroyed³⁰.

Water-related disasters account for Several studies estimate that by 2050 between

70% of all deaths 150 and 200 million people

related to natural disasters³¹ could be displaced as a consequence of phenomena, such as
desertification, sea level rise and increased
extreme weather events³⁴

Worldwide flood damage

amounted to over

US$50 billion
in 2013 and is increasing³²

More than Floods and landslides have

cost an estimated
107,000 people
died due to hydrological
US$453,000,000
disasters (floods and landslides) between 2000 and 2016³⁵
between 2000 and 2016³³

4 UNU-INWEH
 Water, sanitation and health (WASH) crisis

1.8 billion Although progress has been made in supplying drinking water to more
people year on year, 663 million people still lack ‘improved’ drinking
water sources in 2015³⁷ - and for many people, this ‘improved’ water is not
always safe, reliable, affordable or accessible with equity. For example,
people now use a source around 45 million people in Bangladesh drink water that contains arsenic
of drinking water concentrations greater than WHO standards allow³⁸.
contaminated by faeces³⁶

Sanitation and hygiene have made less progress, with 2.4 billion people
lacking improved sanitation facilities³⁹. Equity in sanitation and hygiene
access is of particular concern. Seven out of ten people without improved
sanitation facilities, and nine out of ten people still practicing open defecation, live in rural areas; and a lack of
these services often disproportionately affect women and girls, who can not only suffer health repercussions but
personal danger when services are not available and not secure. Diarrheal diseases, long associated with poor
water and sanitation, account for 1 in 9 child deaths worldwide, making diarrhea the third leading cause of death
among children under the age of 5⁴⁰. Poor water, sanitation and hygiene are major contributors to neglected
tropical diseases like schistosomiasis, trachoma and intestinal worms, which affect more than 1.5 billion people
every year⁴¹.

It is not only households that lack adequate services: in low and middle income countries (LMICs), workplaces,
schools and health facilities also lack WASH. In a 2015 survey of LMICs, 38% of health facilities did not have an
improved water source, 35% did not have soap and water for handwashing and 19% did not have improved
sanitation⁴². The lack of universal WASH in schools costs an estimated 1863 million days of school attendance
globally⁴³.

The WASH crisis does not only affect low income countries. In Canada, there are approximately five thousand
homes in First Nations communities that lack basic water and sewage services⁴⁴. Compared to other Canadians,
First Nations’ homes are ninety times more likely to be without running water⁴⁵.

If radical change is not affected, universal water, sanitation and hygiene – as described in SDG targets 6.1 and
6.2 - will not be reached. A World Bank report⁴⁶ found that capital investments must increase by approximately 3
times to achieve the water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) targets globally. Another study has estimated
that WASH efforts will need to exceed current trends by almost four times to achieve SDG 6.1 and 6.2 by 2030⁴⁷.

Unsafe water, poor sanitation

and hygiene cause approximately
2.4 billion people
One in ten people
has no choice but to
3.5 million - more than one third defecate in the open⁵⁰
deaths worldwide; the latter of the global population –
estimate represents 25 per cent do not use improved
of the deaths of children sanitation facilities⁴⁹
younger than 14⁴⁸

Globally, approximately In India, the time spent looking for a

US$260 billion toilet or finding somewhere to go in 1,000 children
the open costs the economy over die each day due to preventable
is lost each year to the effects of poor
US$10 billion water and sanitation-related
sanitation and unsafe water on many
every year in lost productivity diseases⁵³
aspects of the economy, but most
significantly on healthcare⁵¹ – 20% of GDP⁵²

2 UNU-INWEH 5
 Water infrastructure deterioration and destruction

80% Under the Millennium Development Goals, many populations counted as being
'served' by water supply actually were allocated to systems that had failed. Although
or more wastewater there may be as many as 60,000 new handpumps being constructed in Africa every
returns to the environment year⁵⁶, a 2007 study found 36% of hand pumps across 21 countries in sub-Saharan
without adequate
treatment⁵⁴ Africa were not functional⁵⁷. This represents a loss of between US$1.2 and 1.5 billion in
investments.

The total cost to water utilities worldwide caused by ‘non-revenue water’ – a

combination of physical and commercial losses - has been conservatively estimated
at US$141 billion per year. In developing countries, approximately 45 million cubic
30% meters per day are lost through water infrastructure leakage — enough to serve nearly 200
million people⁵⁸. This problem will only get worse if water infrastructure is not
of global water maintained properly, even for high income countries; for example, the capital
abstraction is lost through
leakage⁵⁵ investment needed to maintain aging water infrastructure in the USA will reach an
estimated US$195 billion in 2040, but if current funding trends continue, needs will be
underfunded by US$144 billion⁵⁹.

Until the SDGs began in 2015, there was far less international focus on
infrastructure and processes for wastewater treatment, water recycling, and water
efficiency, with significant negative impacts in many areas. For example, poorly
treated wastewater is used for agriculture in many low income countries, but children (8-12 years) in areas using
wastewater have been shown to have a 75% prevalence rate for gastroenteritis, compared to 13% in areas using
freshwater, bringing a 73% higher health cost per child in areas using wastewater⁶⁰.

The failure of water systems is often considered a governance issue. In the water sector, the fragmentation of
actors and of accountabilities hinders and undermines transparency and economic efficiency and opens doors
for corruption. Institutional dysfunction, unethical practices, opaque decision-making, poor accountability, and
corruption are reportedly common, but difficult to quantify⁶¹.

Water infrastructure that is damaged deliberately can also have tremendous local impacts. For example, one air
strike in December 2016 in Syria cut water supplies for 3.5 million people and, while some pumping was restored
relatively quickly, 1.4 million had continued reduced supply⁶². Since 2011, water and water infrastructure have
been used as a military target in Syria, Ukraine, India, Israel, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan and Iraq⁶³.

In low-income countries, only

In lower-middle-income countries, only
8% of industrial and
28%
municipal wastewater of wastewater is treated⁶⁵
undergoes treatment of any kind⁶⁴

Globally, it has been estimated that between

5 and 20 million hectares

of land are irrigated with untreated
wastewater⁶⁶

6 UNU-INWEH
 Unsustainable development

While the effectiveness of water management varies dramatically

US$114 billion per year between countries, a rapid scale-up in effort and resources will be
needed for most countries to achieve Sustainable Development
Or more than 3 times the current level of Goal 6 and to support other water-related or water-impacted SDGs.
capital investment is needed to achieve A 2016 study wrote that “the longer governments take to act, the
the Sustainable Development Goals on harder it will be to deliver on their promises by 2030”, and that
water supply, sanitation and hygiene overall, every 3 years of inaction will mean that the amount of effort
(WASH). the amount of money needed needed to succeed will increase exponentially⁶⁸.
to meet the other targets of the “water
goal” is currently
Beyond SDG 6 – the ‘water goal’- water is fundamental to life
Unknown ⁶⁷ and livelihoods. The success of SDG 6 will underpin progress in
many other goals, including those for human health, universal
education and urban progress. Water security is fundamental to
poverty alleviation, and water resource management impacts almost
all aspects of economic activity, including food production and security, industry, energy production,
and transport⁶⁹.

However, these human activities often degrade water resources. 2 million tons of human waste are disposed
of in water courses every day⁷⁰; 15–18 billion m³ of freshwater resources are contaminated by fossil fuel
production every year⁷¹; and the food sector contributes 40 and 54% to the production of organic water pollutants
in high-income and low- income countries respectively ⁷². Severe pathogenic pollution affects around one-third
of all rivers, severe organic pollution around one-seventh of all rivers, and severe and moderate salinity pollution
around one-tenth of all river stretches in Latin America, Africa and Asia⁷³.

To move beyond simply ‘ticking off’ sustainability indicators to true sustainability in the water sector, Member
States must consider the full cost of water and the services it provides.

A 2°C rise in global average temperature could mean additional water-related costs between

US$13.7 billion and $19.2 billion

per year from 2020 to 2050, mostly through water supply and flood management⁷⁴

Wealthier diets cost water: Regionally, the global limit of ecological Of the world’s 263 transboundary
Producing 1 kg of rice requires around sustainability of water available for basins, more than
3,500 L of water, abstraction is reported to have
while 1 kg of beef costs been exceeded for about 60% lack
any type of cooperative
15,000 L⁷⁵ one-third management framework⁷⁷
of the human population.
This will rise to about half of the
human population by 2030⁷⁶

Wastewater-related emissions of methane and nitrous oxide

could rise by50% and 25% ,

respectively, between 1990 and 2020⁷⁸

UNU-INWEH 7
 Ecosystem degradation
All freshwater ultimately depends on the

12.6 million continued, healthy functioning of ecosystems.

Recognising the water cycle as a biophysical
process is essential to achieving sustainable
deaths were attributable to the
water management⁸⁰ and securing the ecosystem
environment globally in 2012⁷⁹ services that humans rely on.

The water- related services provided by

tropical forests include the regulation of water
flows, waste treatment and water purification and
erosion prevention; these collectively account for a value of up to US$7,236 per hectare per year – more than
44% of the total value of forests, exceeding the values of carbon storage, food, timber, and recreation and tourism
services combined⁸¹. Despite this, between 1997 and 2011, US$4.3 to US$20.2 trillion per year worth of
ecosystem services were lost due to land use change.

Freshwater ecosystems themselves provide more than US$75 billion in goods and ecosystem services for
people annually; they also sustain a disproportionately large number of species, including a quarter of all known
vertebrates⁸². However, wetlands are being increasingly threatened by a host of problems. Since 1900,
64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared⁸³. This degradation has been valued at US$20 trillion in lost
ecosystem services annually⁸⁴. According to some estimates the populations of freshwater species declined by 76 %
between 1970 and 2010⁸⁵; Nearly one-third of the world’s amphibians are at risk of extinction and in some
regions, more than 50% of native freshwater fish species are at risk of extinction⁸⁶.

Wetlands are also carbon sinks. Peatlands –lands with peat at the surface- cover only 3% of the Earth’s land
surface, but store nearly double the carbon than all the world’s forests combined, if they are kept wet. An overall
loss of 15% of peatlands has been reported, which translates to a contribution of 5% of all global anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions⁸⁷. Almost half (45%) of the peatlands in the Nordic and Baltic States have been drained
and emit almost 80 megatons of carbon dioxide annually – which is 25% of the total carbon dioxide emissions
of these countries⁸⁸.

It is estimated that the number of people living Eutrophication of surface water and Inefficient use of water for crop
in environments with high water quality risks coastal zones is expected to increase production has caused salinization
due to excessive biochemical oxygen demand almost everywhere until 2030. Globally, of
(BOD) will affect the number of lakes with harmful algal
blooms will increase by at least 20%
one fifth of the global
of the global population in 2050, while people 20% until 2050⁹⁰ irrigated land area⁹¹
facing risks from excessive nitrogen and
phosphorous will increase to

one third
of the global population over the same period⁸⁹

There has been a

Between US$4.3 and US$20.2 trillion per year
30% worth of ecosystem services were lost between
decline in biodiversity 1997 and 2011 due to land use change⁹³
health since 1970⁹²

8 UNU-INWEH
References

¹ 2030 WRG (2030 World Resources Group), 2009. Charting our Water Future: Economic Frameworks to Inform Decision-making. http://www.
mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/charting-our-water-future

² OECD, 2012. Environmental Outlook to 2050: the consequences of inaction. OECD 2012. http://www.oecd.org/env/indicators-modelling-out-
looks/oecd-environmental-outlook-1999155x.htm

³ FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 2009. How to Feed the World in 2050. FAO, Rome. http://www.fao.org/wsfs/
forum2050/wsfs-background-documents/wsfs-expert-papers/en/

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¹⁰ Sadoff, C. W., Hall, J. W., Grey, D., Aerts, J. C. J. H., Ait-Kadi, M., Brown, C., Cox, A., Dadson, S., Garrick, D., Kelman, J., McCornick, P., Ringler,
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RAPHY-SECURING-WATER-SUSTAINING-GROWTH-DOWNLOADABLE.pdf

¹¹ Calculated from FAO AQUASTAT (http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm) using Renewable internal freshwater resources per
capita (cubic meters)

¹² WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme), 2012. The United Nations World Water Development Report 4: Managing Water Under Uncer-
tainty and Risk. UNESCO, Paris. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr4-2012/

¹³ United Nations, (n.d.) Water. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/

¹⁴ OECD, 2012. Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://www.oecd.org/env/indicators-
modelling-outlooks/oecd-environmental-outlook-1999155x.htm

¹⁵ FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 2011. The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agri-
culture (SOLAW) – Managing systems at risk. FAO, Rome, and Earthscan, London. http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i1688e/i1688e00.htm

¹⁶ FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 2009. How to Feed the World in 2050. FAO, Rome. http://www.fao.org/wsfs/
forum2050/wsfs-background-documents/wsfs-expert-papers/en/

¹⁷ World Bank Group, 2016. High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy. World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.worldbank.org/
en/topic/water/publication/high-and-dry-climate-change-water-and-the-economy

¹⁸ Jiménez Cisneros, B.E., T. Oki, N.W. Arnell, G. Benito, J.G. Cogley, P. Döll, T. Jiang, and S.S. Mwakalila, 2014:Freshwater resources. In: Climate
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Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cam-
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WGIIAR5-Chap3_FINAL.pdf

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²⁰ Calculated from EM-DAT: The International Disasters Database. http://www.emdat.be/

²¹ Vahid Alavian, V., Qaddumi, H., Dickson, E., Diez, S., Danilenko, A., Hirji, R., Puz, G., Pizarro, C., Jacobsen, M., Blakespoor, B., 2009. Water and
Climate Change: Understanding the Risks and Making Climate-smart Investment Decisions. The World Bank, New York. http://siteresources.
worldbank.org/EXTNTFPSI/Resources/DPWaterClimateChangeweblarge.pdf

²² CRED (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters), 2013. Disaster Data: A balanced perspective, CRED Crunch Issue 32. http://www.
cedat.be/publications

²³ OECD, 2012. Environmental Outlook to 2050: the consequences of inaction. OECD Publishing, Paris. http://www.oecd.org/env/indicators-mod-
elling-outlooks/oecd-environmental-outlook-1999155x.htm

²⁴ UNISDR (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction), 2011. Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. UNISDR, Geneva. https://www.
unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/19846

UNU-INWEH 9
 ²⁵ UNU (United Nations University), 2004. Two Billion People Vulnerable to Floods by 2050: Number Expected to Double or More in Two Genera-
tions. News Release. UNU, Tokyo. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040614081820.htm

²⁶ UNISDR (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction), 2015. Flash floods are a major global threat says UN. News release, UNISDR, Geneva. https://
www.unisdr.org/archive/46061

²⁷ UNISDR (United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Office), 2017. Five Wetlands That Help us Cope with Extreme Weather Events. http://www.
worldwetlandsday.org/documents/10184/164097/WWD17_Handout2_engl2_HR2_+desktop+print+.pdf/4ae20093-86f4-4cd9-a872-c664cb167aca

²⁸ UNISDR (United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Office), 2017. Wetlands: a natural safeguard against disasters. http://www.worldwetlandsday.
org/documents/10184/164097/WWD17_Handout_engl1_HR2_desktop+print+.pdf/d8e8728b-3ed7-4686-a174-9ebe02d047bd

²⁹ UNISDR (United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Office), 2017. Five Wetlands That Help us Cope with Extreme Weather Events. http://www.
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³⁰ Preventionweb, 2017. Disaster Risk and Environmental Degradation. http://www.preventionweb.net/risk/environmental-degradation

³¹ United Nations, 2016. Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all, Facts and figures. http://www.
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³² Guha-Sapir, D., Hoyois, P. and Below, R., 2014. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2013: The Numbers and Trends. Centre for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels. www.cred.be/sites/default/
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³³ Calculated from the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) from Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). http://www.
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³⁴ Scheffran, J., Brzoska, M., Brauch, H. G., Link, P. M. and Schilling, J. (eds), 2012. Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict. Springer,
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³⁵ Calculated from the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) from Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). http://www.
emdat.be/

³⁶ Bain, R., Cronk, R., Hossain, R., Bonjour, S., Onda, K., Wright, J., Yang, H., Slaymaker, T., Hunter, P., Pruss-Ustun, A., Bartram, J., 2014. Global
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³⁷ Guha-Sapir, D., Hoyois, P. and Below, R., 2014. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2013: The Numbers and Trends. Centre for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels. www.cred.be/sites/default/
files/ADSR_2013.pdf

³⁸ Flanagan, SV, Johnston RB and Zheng Y., 2012. Arsenic in tube well water in Bangladesh: health and economic impacts and implications for
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⁴² WHO and UNICEF, 2015. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Health Care Facilities: status in low and middle income countries and a way forward.
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⁴³ WHO (World Health Organization), 2004. Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health. Facts and figures. WHO, Geneva. http://www.who.int/
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⁴⁴ UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), 2004, Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
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⁴⁵ United Nations, 2009. The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, STT/ESA/328. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division of
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⁴⁶ Hutton, G. & Varughese, M., 2016. The Costs of Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and
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⁴⁷ Nicolai, S., Hoy, C., Berliner, T., and Aedy, T., 2015. Projecting progress: Reaching the SDGs by 2030. Flagship Report, Overseas Development
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⁴⁸ UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 2016. Healthy Environment, Healthy People. Thematic Report for the Ministerial policy review
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⁴⁹ JMP (Joint Monitoring Programme of Water Supply and Sanitation, UNICEF and WHO), 2015. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015
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⁵⁰JMP (Joint Monitoring Programme of Water Supply and Sanitation, UNICEF and WHO), 2015. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015
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⁵¹ Hutton, G., (2012). Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal cover-
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⁵² Tyagi, A., 2012. Inadequate sanitation costs India Rs.2.4 trillion (US$53.8 billion). Economic impacts of inadequate sanitation in India; Water and
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⁵³ United Nations, 2016. Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all, facts and figures. http://www.
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⁵⁴ WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme), 2012.The United Nations World Water Development Report 4: Managing Water under Uncer-
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⁵⁵ Kingdom, B., Liemberger, R. and Marin, P., 2006. The Challenge of Reducing Non-revenue Water (NRW) in Developing Countries - How the
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⁵⁷ RWSN (Rural Water Supply Network), 2009. Triple S Briefing: Providing Reliable Rural Water Services That Last. http://reliefweb.int/report/
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⁵⁹ American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011. Failure to Act: The economic impact of current investment trends in water and waste water treat-
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⁶⁰ Grangier, C., Qadir, M. and Singh, M., 2012. Health Implications for Children in Wastewater-Irrigated Peri-urban Aleppo, Syria. Water Quality,
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⁶¹ OECD, 2014. Water Integrity Workshop Report, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France. http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/OECD-
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⁶² Reuters, 2015. ‘U.N. condemns air strike that cut water supplies to Syria's Aleppo’, Tue Dec 1, 2015. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-
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⁶³ Pacific Institute, 2017. Water Conflict Chronology List. http://www2.worldwater.org/conflict/list/

⁶⁴ Sato, T., Qadir, M., Yamamoto, S., Endo, T. and Zahoor, A., 2013. Global, regional, and country level need for data on wastewater generation,
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⁶⁶ Drechsel, P., Scott, C. A., Raschid-Sally, L., Redwood, M. and Bahri, A. 2010. Wastewater Irrigation and Health. London/ Ottawa/Colombo,
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⁶⁸ Stuart, E. et al., 2016. Leaving No one Behind: A critical path for the first 1,000 days of the Sustainable Development Goals. Overseas Develop-
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⁷¹ WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme), 2017. The United Nations World Water Development Report World Water Development
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 ⁷² United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 2007. Global Environment Outlook 4: Environment for Development. http://www.unep.org/
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⁷⁴ World Bank. 2010. Economics of adaptation to climate change - Synthesis report. World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.worldbank.org/en/
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⁷⁵ Hoekstra, A. and Chapagain, A. 2008. The Global Component of Freshwater Demand and Supply: an assessment of virtual water flows be-
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⁷⁷ UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 2002. The World’s International Freshwater Agreements. UNEP Press, Nairobi. http://www.
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⁸¹ TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity), 2009. TEEB Climate Issues Update. UNEP Press, Geneva. http://www.teebweb.org/publi-
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⁸² Vié, J.-C., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (eds.), 2009. Wildlife in a Changing World – An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threat-
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⁸³ Ramsar Wetland Convention, 2016. Wetlands: A global disappearing Act. Fact sheet 3. http://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/
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⁸⁴ Costanza, R., de Groot, R., Sutton, P., van der Ploeg, S., Anderson, S.J., Kubiszewski, I., Farber, S. and Turner, R.K., 2014. Changes in the global
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