A comprehensive report published by the United Nations reveals that the world has entered a new and dangerous period defined as "global water bankruptcy." According to the report, billions of people are directly harmed by excessive water use and pollution. Experts emphasize that if current trends continue, it is unknown when water systems will completely collapse, which could have serious consequences for peace, social cohesion, and global stability.
75% of the Population Lives in Water-Insecure Regions
Prof. Kaveh Madani, lead author of the report and head of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, highlighted the urgency of the problem, stating that many water systems have passed the point of no return to their former levels.
According to the report, water, the fundamental source of life, has long been consumed faster than it can naturally replenish in many regions. While rivers and soil moisture cannot regenerate annually, long-term water reserves such as groundwater and wetlands are also disappearing due to overuse and destruction.
The striking data in the report clearly reveals the scale of the problem. Today, 75% of the world's population lives in water-insecure or critically water-insecure countries. Approximately 2 billion people live in areas where the ground is subsiding due to the collapse of groundwater aquifers.
The report emphasizes a sharp increase in water-related conflicts since 2010. The number of such conflicts, which was around 20 in 2010, has risen to over 400 by 2024.
Another point particularly highlighted in the report is that half of the world's major lakes have shrunk since the early 1990s.
Agriculture Consumes 70% of Water
According to the report, approximately 70% of the freshwater drawn by humans is used in agriculture. However, millions of farmers are trying to produce more food with increasingly dwindling, polluted, or completely depleted water resources.
The report also states that more than half of global food is produced in regions with declining or unstable water storage capacity. This situation indicates that the water crisis is also a serious threat to food security.
Excessive groundwater extraction is causing land subsidence in many cities around the world. In Rafsanjan, Iran, subsidence is measured at 30 centimeters per year; in Tulare, USA, at 28 centimeters; and in Mexico City, at approximately 21 centimeters.
As a striking example from Turkey, approximately 700 sinkholes that have appeared in the heavily agricultural Konya Plain are cited in the report as one of the most visible signs of water bankruptcy.
Human activities not only consume water but also eliminate natural water reservoirs. According to the report, in the last 50 years, wetlands equivalent in size to the European Union have been completely destroyed.
The UN report emphasizes that the approach to water must be fundamentally changed on a global scale. This requires updating existing but no longer realistic water abstraction rights, transforming water-intensive sectors like agriculture and industry, adopting more efficient irrigation techniques, and reducing waste in urban areas. Supporting communities whose livelihoods will be affected by this transformation is also among the critical issues.
Turkey's Future is at Risk
The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) maps published by the General Directorate of Meteorology (MGM) clearly show the evolution of drought in Turkey over time. Prof. Dr. Mikdat Kadıoğlu, a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, states that 12 and 24-month SPI data reveal that drought has become permanent, especially in the inner, southern, and southeastern regions.
Reports indicate that drought is felt throughout Turkey. MGM data show that Istanbul and Ankara are moving towards severe drought in the long term. A similar trend is observed in provinces like Izmir and Bursa in the Aegean and Marmara regions. Humid conditions are gradually giving way to moderate and severe drought, while in the Mediterranean belt, especially in Adana and Antalya, the drought cycle is reaching extraordinary levels. In Central Anatolia, Konya and Kayseri exhibit a consistently worsening picture across all timescales, placing them in the very severe drought category. In Southeastern Anatolia, Gaziantep and Diyarbakır stand out among the regions experiencing the most intense long-term water stress, being in the severe and extraordinary drought band for almost all periods. In the Black Sea region, short-term humid conditions are seen to evolve into mild and moderate drought in the long term.
The Land of Lakes is Drying Up
Turkey's lakes and wetlands are also rapidly disappearing. In the last 50 years, 186 of Turkey's 250 lakes have completely dried up, and most of the remaining ones have receded to critical levels. In the same period, approximately 1.5 million hectares of wetlands were erased from the map. According to United Nations reports, Turkey faces a risk of severe drought by 2030, and 88% of the country's land is under threat of desertification.
Lake Marmara in Manisa is one of the most striking examples of this ecological destruction. As of 2021, this lake had lost 98% of its surface area. A similar picture applies to Lake Tuz, Lake Seyfe, Lake Eğirdir, and Lake Van. Projections for Lake Eğirdir indicate that if current conditions continue, the lake could be permanently divided into two by 2028.
Approximately 77% of water use in Turkey goes to agriculture. According to experts, the shift in recent years from traditionally cultivating relatively low-water-demanding crops like chickpeas, lentils, and wheat to water-intensive crops such as corn, sugar beet, and avocado is further deepening the water crisis. In addition, the proliferation of illegal wells is causing rapid depletion of groundwater and the formation of hundreds of sinkholes, especially in the Konya Basin.
Dam and large-scale irrigation projects, which accelerated from the 1950s onwards, cut off the natural flow of rivers, severing their connection with lakes and wetlands. According to experts, environmental water needs were largely ignored in most projects, leading to the slow but inevitable drying up of wetlands. Mining activities also exacerbate the situation. It is stated that thousands of liters of water are polluted to obtain one gram of gold.
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