The global water crisis can no longer be ignored. Without a transformation in the economy and a reshaping of water governance, no person, place, economy or ecosystem will remain untouched. Last year’s record floods, droughts, and other extreme water events do not represent anomalies; they reveal a systemic crisis born from decades of mismanagement. The Global Water Economy Commission’s Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action warns that the world stands at a crossroads and must act now. Spain, in particular, is projected to face significant challenges to its food supply as a result of these trends.
The report highlights a crisis intensified by global warming and biodiversity loss, with each factor reinforcing the others. It also provides urgent, collective actions that are necessary to halt the crisis and safeguard water systems for future generations.
Criminal human activities are altering precipitation patterns, reshaping the world’s freshwater balance and the broader hydrological cycle. Each rise in temperature adds more water vapor to the atmosphere, which can overload the cycle, triggering more frequent and severe weather events.
The study notes that over 2 billion people lack access to safely managed water, about 4 billion experience hunger for at least one month annually, and a child under five dies every 80 seconds from waterborne illnesses. These stark facts underscore the need for a new water economy that can deliver reliable, safe water for all.
Spain is not singled out in the report, but maps depict how the country’s future may unfold. One visualization shows Spain facing one of the largest reductions in food supply by 2050 due to water stress and heat. The decline on the Iberian Peninsula is expected to range from 12.4% to 14.9%, placing it among Europe’s most affected nations. Only some South Asian regions may surpass this projection, excluding most of the Indochina peninsula aside from Burma.
a transnational problem
Water is a supranational challenge. Science shows that communities and nations are hydrologically linked not only through rivers and lakes but also via atmospheric moisture flows. In other words, actions in one region can affect precipitation in distant lands. If left unchecked, the global water crisis threatens progress toward Sustainable Development Goals and undermines food and health security, poverty reduction, and peace across borders.
Women, vulnerable groups, Indigenous communities, youth, farmers, workers, and small businesses are disproportionately affected by these pressures. Global hunger, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires are imposing unprecedented costs on people and economies around the world.
Growing population, rising incomes, and changing consumption patterns have driven unprecedented use of land and freshwater in agriculture. Blue water withdrawals have surged from 500 cubic kilometers in 1900 to over 4,000 in 2022, contributing to groundwater depletion and the degradation of coastal ecosystems.
The authors argue that breaking the stalemate requires urgent, bold, and integrated action at local, regional, national, and global levels by 2030. Their seven-point framework emphasizes practical, justice-centered strategies that can deliver a sustainable and fair water future for all:
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Manage the water cycle as a shared global resource that must be protected for everyone, recognizing its deep ties to climate change and the planet’s natural capital. Water security is essential for food production and requires justice and equity at every level.
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Guarantee the right to water for all through a results-oriented approach. The human right to domestic drinking water should be fulfilled, with innovation and industrial collaboration driving solutions. Public-private partnerships should increase investments in water infrastructure.
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Stop undervaluing water. Affordable pricing can promote efficient, fair, and sustainable use, while the non-economic value of water—its role in ecosystems and life—must guide policy decisions.
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Reduce agricultural and water subsidies. Phasing out subsidies that encourage overuse helps curb waste and environmental harm. Water losses are costly and must be dramatically cut, with transparent reporting on water footprints guiding investment choices.
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Encourage private investment. Partnerships can boost access to water in lower-income regions, bringing in banks, corporations, and philanthropists to support scalable solutions with solid returns.
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Strengthen freshwater storage and protect natural assets such as wetlands and aquifers. A circular urban water economy should recycle wastewater and promote precision irrigation and drought-resistant crops as non-destructive farming approaches.
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Reshape multilateral water governance to reduce fragmentation. Trade policies should reflect water conservation standards, empowering farmers, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and consumers to lead in water conservation efforts.
Physicist and communicator José Miguel Viñas recently published Our Climate Problem, a guide to the central challenges facing humanity. He outlines future scenarios illustrating how rising temperatures and extreme events can disrupt essential sectors like agriculture. He notes that strategies must be structural, not superficial, and that global cooperation remains essential, drawing comparisons with early successes in addressing ozone depletion while acknowledging the greater complexity of climate change caused by fossil fuels.