Water Bankruptcy
Water Bankruptcy is a condition defined by both insolvency and irreversibility, in which repeated water crises become chronic states with persistent shortages or damages and water systems can no longer return to their historical baselines.[1][2][3] Though usage of the term—with varying meanings—dates back to the late nineteenth century,[4] it has been formally defined and brought into prominent policy and academic discussion by environmental scientist Kaveh Madani as a diagnostic label for a human-water system as being in an irreversible, post-crisis state of failure.[2][3]
Formal Definition
In January of 2026, Springer Nature published an article by Madani titled Water Bankruptcy: The Formal Definition. Here, Madani defines Water Bankruptcy is defined as "...the persistent post-crisis condition or the state of failure in a human-water system in which:
- Long-term average human withdrawals from surface and groundwater—the checking and savings accounts of the system—exceed the system’s renewable freshwater inflows and the safe limits of depletion of strategic water reserves and pressure on water-dependent ecosystems; and
- The resulting depletion and degradation of water-related natural capital cause partially irreversible damages on societally relevant time scales, such that historical levels of water supply and ecosystem function cannot be restored without disproportionate social, economic, or environmental costs."[2]
Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era
On 20 January, 2026 the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) published a flagship report titled Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era. Madani served as lead author of the report, which was launched at the noon briefing at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. The report garnered significant attention from both mainstream media and the academic community.
References
- ↑ Burnett, Nuala (2026-01-26). "What is 'water bankruptcy'?".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Madani, Kaveh (2026-01-19). "Water Bankruptcy: The Formal Definition". Water Resources Management. 40 (2): 78. doi:10.1007/s11269-025-04484-0. ISSN 1573-1650.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Madani, Kaveh (2026-01-20). Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post Crisis Era (Report). United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU INWEH).
- ↑ Middleton, R.E. (1898-10). "London (Welsh) water-supply". Public Health. 11: 433–434. doi:10.1016/s0033-3506(98)80175-3. ISSN 0033-3506. Check date values in:
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