Water Security

Être en sécurité hydrique signifie avoir accès à une eau suffisante, sûre et fiable pour répondre aux besoins quotidiens tout en étant protégé contre la pollution hydrique et les catastrophes liées à l’eau (inondations, tempêtes, etc.). En effet, l’eau est essentielle à tous les aspects de notre vie et de nos moyens de subsistance. Nous avons besoin d’eau pour nos besoins humains quotidiens fondamentaux, ainsi que pour la production alimentaire, énergétique et industrielle et pour maintenir l’environnement qui nous entoure. Le manque d’accès à une eau suffisante et de bonne qualité affecte notre santé et notre capacité à prospérer. Trop d’eau cause des dommages, des destructions et parfois la mort.

Climate change affects our ability to meet and improve water security from the local to the global levels. According to the UN, the climate crisis is primarily a water crisis. As warming disrupts hydrological systems, we feel the impacts of climate change through worsening floods, droughts, storms and cyclones, unpredictable precipitation, deteriorating water-quality and rising sea levels. These impacts are largely unequal, with the poorest and more vulnerable being disproportionately affected, and often having the least means to adapt in the longer term. The UN estimates that by 2050, 5.7 billion people will be living in areas experiencing water scarcity for at least one month per year. The economic impacts could be drastic, likely spurring migration and sparking conflict. 

While water security is threatened by climate change, it is also central to our ability to adapt to climate impact. Improving the way we manage water – through both technical strategies as well as socio-economic responses – is central to building resilience and supporting climate adaptation. 

This Water Security theme sheds light on the links between water security, climate and climate adaptation, highlighting the challenges and barriers to building water security, as well as sharing concrete examples of how water can be sustainable managed to build climate resilience for communities, economies and ecosystems. You can find water-related content in other themes, notably: 

• Adaptation in Mountains; 
• Adaptation without borders; 
• Cities and Climate Change; 
• Climate, Food Security and Agriculture;  
• Disasters and Climate Change; 
• Gender and social Equity; 
• Governance, Institutions and Policy; 
• Nature-Based Solutions;