This session, co-convened by UNU-INWEH, and the UNU Hub on Remote Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) will highlight the recent flagship report “Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era” of UNU-INWEH, which states that the world has entered the era of “water bankruptcy”, a persistent post-crisis condition in which long-term water use has exceeded renewable inflows and safe depletion limits, degrading water systems beyond realistic recovery.
The session aims to place global water bankruptcy at the center of the international water agenda. It seeks to catalyze a new fresh water agenda must be developed that takes Global Water Bankruptcy as a starting point and uses the 2026 and 2028 UN Water Conferences, the conclusion of the Water Action Decade (2028), and the 2030 SDG 6 timeline as milestones for resetting how the world understands and governs water.
Speakers for this panel include UNU-INWEH Director and 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, Professor Kaveh Madani, who will present the key findings of the Global Water Bankruptcy report, as well as high-level representatives from Member States, UN representatives, academic experts, civil society, and young professionals.
To join the session online, please register via the World Water Week platform. Online registration is free of charge: https://worldwaterweek.org/
