Water crisis: So endangered our most important resource!

Water crisis: So endangered our most important resource!

Wien, Österreich - Wien/Berlin - A current water atlas shows alarming facts about our most important resource: water. According to a joint publication by Global 2000, the Nature Conservation Association and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the water supply is strongly under pressure due to overuse, pollution and the direct effects of the climate crisis. "We have already exceeded the limits of sustainable water use, and the water cycle is increasingly out of balance," says Dominik Linhard, project manager at Global 2000. A quarter of the world population has no access to clean drinking water, and this number could continue to rise due to the climate crisis and extreme weather events, reported the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The challenges in Austria

In Austria, meadows, bogs and hydropower plants are affected against contamination. The region recently hit devastating storms and floods. Linhard explains that the floodplain and bogs are important ecosystems that also store carbon and thus make a contribution to climate protection. Nevertheless, only about 40 percent of the rivers are in good condition. Construction and regulations put our water habitats under pressure; Many species, including fish and amphibians, are threatened. The problem of the so -called eternal meat chemicals such as Pfas, which accumulate and contaminate the groundwater, is also critically seen. These chemicals are not taken into account in water, which reinforces their dangers.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation and the BUND underline the need for an internationally regulated and fair water distribution. "The transfer of water supply to private hands has a negative impact on prices and access," said Olaf Bandt, chairman of the federal government. Their solutions include better water management and the regulation of harmful substances in water. Binding political regulations are required to protect the water resources so that both humans and nature are supplied in the long run. The Wasser Atlas 2025 presents these challenges and solutions on 60 pages and can be downloaded, as the foundation announced on its website.