Leaders from around the world met in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting to discuss rapid technological advancements, pollution, and other issues facing the globe. Among the big topics for this years’ meeting was the UN declaring 2026 to be the “Year of Water.”
“This year’s Annual Meeting in Davos will have a blue thread that connects a host of events and announcements, highlighting the vital role of water ecosystems – from ocean to freshwater – in global stability, trade, livelihoods, food systems, and climate resilience”, the World Economic Forum’s website reads. “Blue Davos” connects the Forum’s work on freshwater, oceans and the “blue economy” under one theme, which is water. Blue Davos warns that some locations are experiencing too much water due to floods, storms and rising seas, while other locations are experiencing droughts and drying rivers.
Over the past few years, the UN has been increasingly focused on water sustainability, which is point six of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which they hope to implement by 2030. Among the list of eight targets that the UN hopes to accomplish regarding water, the list includes increasing water-use efficiency and ensuring freshwater supplies, implementing integrated water resource management, and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems.
According to a new UN report, “The world has moved beyond a water crisis and into a state of global water bankruptcy.” The report calls for a “transition from crisis response to bankruptcy management, grounded in honesty about the irreversibly of losses, protection of remaining water resources – and policies that match hydrological reality rather than past norms.” “For much of the world, ‘normal’ is gone,” warned Director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health at a recent press briefing in New York.
The UN and WEF’s solution to floods and droughts? A massive power grab, where 30 percent of the world’s land and water would be “protected” by 2030, affecting not only individual rights but national sovereignty as well. This power grab will affect everything from fishing to how private property can be used (assuming you will even own property).
The year will conclude with the UN hosting the third UN Water Conference this December, which will be held in the UAE.
Levi Mikula is an editorial intern at The Heartland Institute.
