Ecology

Contamination, parched rivers and recurring floods expose the fragility of Europe’s water systems. Robust legislation exists, but governments are slow to act. Delivering water resilience requires leadership, investment and real accountability.

The climate crisis is disrupting the balance of the global water cycle. While rain floods entire regions, others suffer from severe drought. Where water becomes either a threat or a scarcity, the basis of life begins to falter. All the more crucial are solutions like restored wetlands and climate-resilient building in sponge cities, practices that can retain, manage – and safeguard – water and lives.

The Mekong, one of the world’s most biodiverse rivers, breathes life into vast ecosystems. Flowing through six countries, it links cultures, livelihoods, and landscapes. But as dams multiply, pollution intensifies, and currents slow, its natural rhythms break down.

Over a quarter of the world’s population has no safe access to drinking water. To improve this situation, the United Nations has declared water a human right: it must be safe to drink and accessible to all. Decisive political action is required to prevent such well-intentioned efforts from faltering.

In Chile and elsewhere, multinational mining companies destroy glaciers and displace Indigenous Peoples. With raising demand for minerals there is an increasing threat of resource conflicts because of mining’s thirst for water and its huge impact on water quality. A circular economy is one way to slow down the rush to dig up the ground.

In many countries, coal companies are not only the main emitters of carbon dioxide – they are also the biggest water users. By importing fossil fuels, the world’s wealthiest countries contribute to water shortages in producing countries.

Digitalisation clearly enables new forms of mobility, living, and working. However, the rising energy consumption and water needs for artificial intelligence and other computing services pose ecological and social challenges.

Water and energy are deeply interconnected: producing energy relies on water, while treating water consumes energy. Mining raw materials such as lithium and copper needs lots of water, also in arid regions. The solutions: recycling, water-saving technologies, and switching to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

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.

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.