UN World Water Development Report

The UN World Water Development Report 2022 “Groundwater – making the invisible visible” is launched on 21 March 2022 at the opening ceremony of the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

The report and World Water Day 2022 sets the theme for a range of key events and campaigning activities throughout the year. The findings of the report are used to make recommendations to policymakers.

The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) is UN-Water’s flagship report on water and sanitation issues, focusing on a different theme each year. The report is published by UNESCO, on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. The report gives insight on main trends concerning the state, use and management of freshwater and sanitation, based on work done by the Members and Partners of UN-Water. Launched in conjunction with World Water Day, the report provides decision-makers with knowledge and tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies. It also offers best practices and in-depth analyses to stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector and beyond.

The UN WWDR was originally a triennial report and the first four editions were launched in conjunction with the World Water Forum in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012. The triennial version provided an overall picture of the state, uses and management of the world’s freshwater resources. In 2012, the decision was taken to revise the scope of the report and improve its format in order to better meet the needs of its readers with an annual, more concise publication that is increasingly facts-based and has a more specific thematic focus.

Groundwater: Making the invisible visible

Accounting for approximately 99% of all liquid freshwater on Earth, groundwater has the potential to provide societies with tremendous social, economic and environmental benefits and opportunities. Groundwater already provides half of the volume of water withdrawn for domestic use by the global population, including the drinking water for the vast majority of the rural population who do not get their water delivered to them via public or private supply systems, and around 25% of all water withdrawn for irrigation. However, this natural resource is often poorly understood, and consequently undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.

Groundwater is central to the fight against poverty, to food and water security, to the creation of decent jobs, to socio-economic development, and to the resilience of societies and economies to climate change. Reliance on groundwater will only increase, mainly due to growing water demand by all sectors combined with increasing variation in rainfall patterns.

The report describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the development, management and governance of groundwater across the world. It aims to establish a clear understanding of the role that groundwater plays in daily life, of its interactions with people, and of the opportunities for optimizing its use in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of this largely available yet fragile resource.

Unlocking the full potential of groundwater will require strong and concerted efforts to manage and use it sustainably. And it all starts by making the invisible visible.

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