Environment at a Glance Dashboard

Freshwater resources is essential for sustaining life, especially given the accelerated water cycle due to climate change. Their distribution varies widely among and within countries. Their availability and quality are impacted by water abstractions, such as for public supply, irrigation, industrial processes or cooling of electric power plants, pollution loads from agriculture, wastewater treatment and changes in climate and weather conditions. Overexploitation, pollution and inefficient use of water are of concern. Sustainable management of water resources and services is needed to maintain adequate supplies of freshwater of suitable quality for economic activities, human use and well-being. It also supports aquatic and other ecosystems, and addressing threats associated with droughts and floods resulting from climate change.

Data on freshwater abstractions are used to compute policy-relevant indicators on water stress (the percentage of freshwater resources abstracted), water intensity (abstraction per person), as well as their economic sectoral breakdown.

Data on public sewage treatment connection rates by type of treatment: primary/mechanical, biological and tertiary/advanced treatment. The optimal connection rate is not necessarily 100%. It may vary among countries and depends on geographical features and on the spatial distribution of habitats.