The World Is Running Out of Fresh Water. What Happens If We Do? – Truthout

Global Groundwater Depletion: A Threat to Sustainable Development

Introduction

A recent study in Science Advances reveals that nearly 6 billion people across 101 countries have experienced unprecedented terrestrial water loss over the past 22 years. This trend poses a significant threat to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). In non-glaciated regions, groundwater loss accounts for approximately 68 percent of total freshwater declines, highlighting a critical challenge for global water security and sustainable resource management.

Key Findings on Global Water Loss

• Four continental mega-drying regions have formed in the Northern Hemisphere, spanning from North America to Central Asia.
• Dry areas are drying at a faster rate than wet areas are wetting, and the total area experiencing drying has increased.
• The depletion of terrestrial water, including groundwater, is now a more significant contributor to sea-level rise than glaciers and ice caps on land.

Case Study: India’s Water Crisis and its Impact on SDGs

Challenges to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)

India, the world’s largest user of groundwater, exemplifies the severe challenges to sustainable water management. The nation’s reliance on this resource for agriculture, industry, and domestic use has led to a critical state of over-exploitation, directly undermining the targets of SDG 6.

• India extracts more groundwater than the United States and China combined.
• Aquifers in key agricultural regions are dangerously over-exploited, meaning water is extracted faster than it can be replenished.
• In some rural communities, up to 85 percent of drinking water is sourced from underground, and drying wells necessitate emergency water supplies via government trucks.

Impact on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

The depletion of groundwater has devastating consequences for India’s agricultural sector, threatening food security and pushing farming communities deeper into poverty. This directly impedes progress on SDG 1 and SDG 2.

1. Approximately 80 percent of the country’s marginal farmers have suffered crop failures due to depleted groundwater and other climate-related impacts.
2. The high cost of drilling deeper wells, estimated at $5,000 to $7,000, can equal one to two years of a farmer’s income, leading to crippling debt.
3. Economic distress and crop loss have been linked to a rise in farmer suicides.

Global Implications for Sustainable Development

Threats Across Multiple SDGs

The crisis of groundwater depletion extends beyond water and food security, creating cascading negative impacts that threaten a wide range of global development targets.

• SDG 13 (Climate Action): Shrinking groundwater reserves reduce national resilience against climate-induced droughts and extreme weather events.
• SDG 15 (Life on Land): The crisis contributes to accelerating biodiversity loss within groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): Water scarcity increases the potential for social unrest and conflict over resources, as observed in regions like Iran, where critically depleted aquifers have contributed to widespread water rationing and civil discontent.

Pathways to Sustainable Groundwater Management

The Governance Gap and its Challenge to SDG 16 and SDG 17

A primary obstacle to addressing the groundwater crisis is the absence of a comprehensive global governance framework. Management is often fragmented at local levels, hindering a coordinated response. Political factors, such as federal budget cuts to international policy centers, have weakened global water security initiatives and undermined the spirit of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Promising Solutions and Policy Innovations

Despite the challenges, several initiatives offer pathways toward sustainable groundwater management in line with the SDGs.

• California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA): This landmark legislation in the United States provides a regulatory model for achieving groundwater sustainability by 2040, offering valuable lessons for other regions working towards SDG 6.
• Initiatives in India:
  • Implementation of aggressive groundwater recharge programs to replenish aquifers.
  • A new program equipping farmers with solar pumps and an incentive to sell surplus electricity back to the grid. This initiative aims to reduce over-pumping by making energy sales a viable alternative, thereby promoting both water efficiency (SDG 6) and clean energy (SDG 7).

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on global groundwater depletion touches upon several interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The analysis reveals connections to the following goals:

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: This is the most central SDG, as the article’s primary focus is on the depletion of groundwater, a critical source of freshwater for drinking, agriculture, and industry.
• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: The article extensively discusses the impact of groundwater loss on agriculture, including crop failures and the livelihoods of farmers, which directly threatens food security.
• SDG 1: No Poverty: The economic hardship faced by farmers, who spend their entire annual income drilling wells and often go out of business, links the issue directly to poverty.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: The article explicitly states that climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, exacerbates water scarcity by warming the atmosphere and shrinking surface water resources, leading to increased reliance on groundwater.
• SDG 15: Life on Land: The text mentions the “growing threat of biodiversity loss… within groundwater-dependent ecosystems,” connecting water depletion to the health of terrestrial ecosystems.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The article highlights the potential for conflict, mentioning “water wars,” “acrimonious fights over clean, readily available groundwater,” and “worsening civil unrest” in regions like Iran due to water scarcity. It also points to a lack of governance.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The article describes how Indian farmers are “going out of business” and the “huge burden on taxpayers” and villages, indicating negative impacts on economic stability and employment.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the issues discussed, several specific SDG targets are relevant:

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity. The article’s core theme of aquifers being “dangerously over-exploited” where “way more water is pumped out than is going back in” directly relates to the need for sustainable withdrawals.
• Target 6.5: By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate. The article points to a “lack of a broad, overarching system of governance regulating groundwater use” and highlights California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) as an example of such a system.
• Target 6.6: By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. The mention of “biodiversity loss… within groundwater-dependent ecosystems” directly aligns with this target.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. The article describes the current system of over-pumping for irrigation as unsustainable, leading to “crop failures” and farmers going out of business.

SDG 1: No Poverty

• Target 1.5: By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters. The article details the vulnerability of marginal farmers in India, who are “wiping out one or two years of income in search of water” and suffering from “depleted groundwater and other climate-related impacts.”

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. The article states that “Governments presiding over shrinking groundwater resources will find it harder to climate-proof their nations against longer, harsher droughts and other extreme weather patterns.”

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The article implies a threat to this target by discussing the growing likelihood of “acrimonious fights over clean, readily available groundwater,” “water wars,” and linking water scarcity to “worsening civil unrest” in Iran.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article provides several pieces of quantitative and qualitative information that can serve as or imply indicators for measuring progress.

For SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)

• Implied Indicator for Target 6.4: Level of water stress. The article describes aquifers in India as “dangerously over-exploited,” which is a direct measure of water stress (Indicator 6.4.2). The statement that India is the “thirstiest user of groundwater in the world” also serves as a qualitative indicator of high water stress.
• Implied Indicator for Target 6.5: Existence of water management policies. The article’s discussion of the “lack of a broad, overarching system of governance” versus the implementation of California’s “Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)” implies that the presence and effectiveness of such policies are key indicators.

For SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

• Implied Indicator for Target 2.4: Rate of crop failure among small-scale farmers. The article provides specific data points: “around 80 percent of the country’s marginal farmers have suffered crop failures” and “nearly 43 percent of farmers saw at least half their standing crops lost.” These figures can be used as direct indicators of agricultural system resilience.

For SDG 1 (No Poverty)

• Implied Indicator for Target 1.5: Economic losses due to water scarcity. The article quantifies the financial burden on farmers: “Farmers might spend $5,000 to $7,000 to drill a new bore well. That’s about the total income that some of these farmers are making in a year or even two years.” This financial data serves as an indicator of economic vulnerability.
• Implied Indicator for Target 1.5: Farmer suicide rates. The mention that “Some are committing suicide” points to a severe social indicator of distress and lack of resilience among the farming community.

For SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

• Implied Indicator for Target 16.1: Number of conflicts related to natural resources. The article’s references to “water wars,” “acrimonious fights,” and “civil unrest” linked to water scarcity serve as qualitative indicators of conflict levels.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: truthout.org