Homepage

Water and islands

UNU Report: How Bitcoin Mining Impacts Climate, Water and Land

Bitcoin mining is the term given to the computational process carried out by networked computers to solve extremely complicated cryptographical problems in order to verify bitcoin transactions, and generate more units of bitcoin (BTC). The water footprint of BTC mining is significant, amounting to about 1.65 cubic kilometers (km3) from 2020 to 2021. This is comparable to the volume of water required to fill over 660,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The Hidden Environmental Cost of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin Mining...
Children fetching water from truck

Report: Interconnected Disaster Risks 2023

This year’s edition analyses six interconnected risk tipping points, representing immediate and increasing risks across the world. One of...
Scientist reviewing map

GloWAL: A New Global Water Resources Initiative

A new global laboratory network is empowering countries around the world to generate the data needed to manage their...
Female farmer in a the field, Madagascar

Evaluation of ILO’s work in the rural economy

Covering the period 2016-23, the evaluation focused on rural employment, using data gathered through a synthesis of 32 reports...
SDG_06

Sustainable Development Goal 6

Billions of people are still living without safely managed water and sanitation. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. Achieving SDG 6 is integral to the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to end extreme poverty and protect the planet.

Text saying questions people ask

Questions people ask

Communications should be a two-way exchange. ‘Questions people ask’ is a new feature where we answer some of the questions we get asked about important issues, such as, climate change, water scarcity and wastewater. Through responding to queries from our audiences, we aim to explain key issues in a clear and engaging way that fosters ongoing conversations.

Image

SDG 6 Data Portal

The UN-Water SDG 6 Data Portal brings all the United Nations’ water and sanitation information into one place. Designed for decision-makers, advisors, technical professionals, researchers and students, there are tools to help visualize and analyse the information, creating a clear picture of how the world is progressing towards the various SDG 6 targets.

Image

SDG 6 Progress Reports

Monitoring progress towards SDG 6 helps policy- and decision makers identify challenges and opportunities, set priorities, communicate progress, and generate support and investment. SDG 6 Progress Reports are primarily based on national official data sources, compiled and validated by United Nations custodian agencies.

Be the change

Be the change campaign

What can you do to help solve the water and sanitation crisis? In 2023, the UN is uniting the world around accelerating progress towards SDG 6. UN-Water is coordinating a global campaign asking people and organizations to ‘Be the change’ they want to see in the world. Choose from a list of #WaterActions and play your part.

Spotlight on

Questions people ask

 

What We Do

inform policies

Inform Policies

UN-Water identifies emerging issues and develops collaborative contributions to global policy frameworks on disasters, climate change, sustainable development and other issues.

monitor and reports

Monitor and Report

UN-Water is a monitoring hub, providing coherent and reliable data and information on key water trends and management issues throughout the water cycle.

inspire action

Inspire Action

UN-Water coordinates global thematic campaigns for World Water Day and World Toilet Day every year and creates engaging communications on key water related issues.