Addressing Water Scarcity to Achieve Climate Resilience and Human Health

Karl Zimmermann; Azar M Abadi; Kate A Brauman; Josefina Maestu; Gualbert Oude-Essink; Corinne Schuster-Wallace; Ryan Smith; Kaveh Madani; Zafar Adeel; Matthew O Gribble

doi:10.1093/inteam/vjaf001

Addressing Water Scarcity to Achieve Climate Resilience and Human Health

Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2025 Jan 13:vjaf001. doi: 10.1093/inteam/vjaf001. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T1Z3Canada.
² Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294United States.
³ Global Water Security Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
⁴ Department of Economics, Business Administration and Tourism, University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain.
⁵ Unit Subsurface and Groundwater Systems, Deltares, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
⁶ Department of Geography and Planning; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada.
⁷ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
⁸ United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, ON, Canada.
⁹ Pacific Water Research Centre at the Simon Frasier University, Surrey, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Medicine, Division of Occupational, Environmental and Climate Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, California, 94158United States.

PMID: 39804677
DOI: 10.1093/inteam/vjaf001

Abstract

Water scarcity is projected to affect half of the world's population, gradually exacerbated by climate change. This article elaborates from a panel discussion at the 2023 United Nations Water Conference on Addressing Water Scarcity to Achieve Climate Resilience and Human Health. Understanding and addressing water scarcity goes beyond hydrological water balances to also include societal and economic measures. We consider five categories of health impacts resulting from deteriorating water qualities and quantities: (i.) water-related diseases and water for hygiene, (ii.) malnutrition and water for food, (iii.) livelihoods, income, development, and water for energy, (iv.) adverse air quality from drought-induced dust and wildfire smoke, and (v.) mental health effects from water scarcity-related factors. A discussion on the barriers and opportunities for resilient water systems begins by re-framing water scarcity as a 'pathway to water bankruptcy' and introducing Water Partnerships to empowering local water leaders with the awareness, education, and resources to devise and implement locally-appropriate water management strategies. Other barriers include the (i.) lack of tools to consider the socio-economic implications of water scarcity, (ii.) lack of water information being in actionable formats for decision-makers, (iii.) lack of clarity in the application of water scarcity modelling to gain policy-relevant findings, and (iv.) inadequate drought adaptation planning. The article includes recommendations for local governments, national governments, international actors, researchers, non-governmental organizations, and local constituents in addressing these barriers. The predominant theme in these recommendations is collaborative, multi-disciplinary Water Partnerships, knowledge-sharing in accessible formats, and empowering participation by all. This paper's central thesis is that addressing water scarcity must focus on people and their ability to lead healthy and productive lives.

Keywords: droughts; environmental policy; public health; water insecurity; water resources.

© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.