A media briefing will be held at the UN Correspondents Association to spotlight the urgent findings of the recent Global Water Bankruptcy report and its call for a renewed global water agenda.
The briefing will also draw attention to one of the world’s most critical yet often overlooked water challenges: groundwater overextraction. If left unaddressed, the depletion of groundwater resources threatens food systems, drinking water security, ecosystems—including rivers and streams—and broader socio-economic stability.
Launched at United Nations Headquarters on 20 January 2026, and presented the same day at the United Nations Spokesperson’s Noon Briefing, the Global Water Bankruptcy report has since received broad international media attention, including coverage by CNN, The Guardian, and other major outlets.
The briefing will bring together leading experts to discuss the growing challenge of water bankruptcy and the need for urgent global action:
Prof. Kaveh Madani, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), known as “The UN’s Think Tank on Water,” and author of Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era.
Ms. Ann Hayden, Vice President, Resilient Water Systems, Environmental Defense Fund
Ms. Sofie Jaffe, Permanent Observer of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the United Nations
Dr. Anthony Acciavatti, Associate Professor at Yale University
The briefing will offer journalists an opportunity to engage directly with experts on the growing risks of water bankruptcy, the global implications of groundwater depletion, and the policy solutions needed to protect water security in the years ahead.
