Water Atlas 2025 Data and facts about the basis of life https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/wateratlas2025_web_20251024.pdf https://eu.boell.org/en/WaterAtlas the unequal distribution of water and industrial pollution to climate-linked water insecurity and geopolitical tensions.
BASIS OF LIFE. To overcome crises, we must manage water sustainably.
WATER FOR ALL Over a quarter of the world’s population has no safe access to drinking water.
declared water a human right:
CLIMATE UNDER PRESSURE extreme weather more frequent. Those most severely affected are least able to protect themselves.
16 BIODIVERSITY
WET HABITATS
Healthy ecosystems purify water and
protect against floods and droughts. However,
the climate crisis is disrupting natural
cycles and threatening habitats around the
world. Protecting peatlands, wetlands,
and coastal areas is not only an ecological
priority but also a social imperative.
CONSUMPTION TAPPED OUT From farms to factories, from smartphones
to kitchen taps, global water consumption
and demand are rising, driven by agriculture
and industry.
20 POLLUTION MURKY DEPTHS
Plastic waste, industrial effluent, chemicals:
scarcely a single body of water is safe. They
threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, and human
health. The solution to the wave of pollutants?
A circular economy that conserves resources.
22 PRIVATISATION
THE STORY OF A WRONG TURN
Selling public water supply systems to private
companies was supposed to make management
more efficient, and lower prices. But
experience has often shown the opposite. Many
municipalities and civil society initiatives now
want to bring water back into the public domain.
24 CONFLICTS
DIVIDING THE WATERS
Access to clean water is a human right. But
with the climate crisis and population growth,
water is becoming an ever-scarcer resource –
over which different groups may compete
fiercely. Interna
PRIVATISATION
THE STORY OF A WRONG TURN
Selling public water supply systems to private
companies was supposed to make management
more efficient, and lower prices. But
experience has often shown the opposite. Many
municipalities and civil society initiatives now
want to bring water back into the public domain.
24 CONFLICTS
DIVIDING THE WATERS
Access to clean water is a human right. But
with the climate crisis and population growth,
water is becoming an ever-scarcer resource –
over which different groups may compete
fiercely. International agreements can help
promote cooperation rather than conflict.
26 AGRICULTURE
DRYING OUT
Agriculture is the single largest industrial
sector when it comes to consuming water:
72 percent of the world’s freshwater consumption
is used to produce food. Ensuring a secure
supply despite the threats posed by the changing
climate will take political will.
28 VEGETABLE FARMING
THIRSTY TOMATOES IN DRY LANDSCAPES
Spain is Europe’s vegetable garden. The
country is an example of how export-oriented
industrial cultivation methods lead to water
shortages and pollution, as well as accelerate the
loss of species. To overcome such crises,
a sustainable reorganisation of the food
system is necessary.