Mila Ibrahimova

UNESCO

Growing use along with the increased pressure on surface water resources is making global water crises unavoidable – unless we tap into the full potential of Earth’s groundwater resources, which offer an enormous supply of freshwater.

Groundwater, which accounts for 99 per cent of all liquid freshwater on Earth, currently covers a quarter of our needs. Yet, this natural resource is consequently undervalued, mismanaged and even abused. The latest edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Groundwater: Making the invisible visible, published on 21 March 2022 by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, brings to light the potential of this abundant resource to meet our needs, if it is managed sustainably.

Water and megacities