Global water resources are degraded through mismanagement and climate change. Complete mitigation is not possible and some of the damages are effectively irreversible, leading to an unavoidable increase of water scarcity, coining the term water bankruptcy. This calls for a change in water governance that addresses unavoidable damage instead of treating the problem like a short-term crisis.
There are many promising strategies like managed aquifer recharge, nature-based solutions (e.g. wetlands) and a change in agricultural practices, but the problem can’t be reduced to a purely technical one. Instead, it is important to highlight that strong water-society relations lead to an inherently political problem
For an equity-based transition towards bankruptcy management, management decisions must be embedded in a policy framework ensuring water is allocated legitimately.
I consider looking at how demand side reallocation through prioritizing basic needs can be assessed and implemented to adapt to diminishing water resources in a socially just way.
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References:
[1] Madani, K. (2026). Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post Crisis Era. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU INWEH). https://doi.org/10.53328/inr26kam001
[2] Linton, J., & Budds, J. (2014). The hydrosocial cycle: Defining and mobilizing a relational-dialectical approach to water. Geoforum, 57, 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.10.008
[3] Gouveia, A. G. de, Britto, A. L. N. de P., & Formiga-Johnsson, R. M. (2023). Ciclos, territórios e escassez hidrossociais na construção de desigualdades e exclusão do acesso à água: uma revisão sistemática integrativa. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, 62. https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v62i0.83893