Topic Guide: Corruption in Water and Sanitation Sector

Water and sanitation services are essential to sustainable development. Yet 844 million people do not have access to basic drinking water and almost 2.3 billion do not have access to basic sanitation.[1] Every year, 3.5 million people die from diseases and viruses transmitted through untreated water.[2] In the face of climate change, sustainable water management practices are even more urgent as the quality and availability of water resources become increasingly fraught. Recognising these high stakes, world leaders have committed to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (SDG 6) by 2030 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

Yet, corruption in water management is a major obstacle to this goal, endangering health outcomes, food security and people’s livelihoods, which in turn undermine economic development, environmental sustainability and socio-political stability. Corruption can pervade all aspects of water management, inflating the costs of drinking water, hampering the reliable supply of irrigation, or fuelling large-scale water pollution in many countries,[3] all of which complicate efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.[4]  

Corruption in water management has a devastating impact on food security. In places with little precipitation, low water tables, scarce access to water sources or drought, water conservation becomes essential to agricultural production. In India, for instance, which has the largest area of irrigated land in any country,[5] agriculture constitutes an astonishing 92.6 per cent of the country’s annual national water footprint.[6] Globally, irrigated land helps produce 40 per cent of the world’s food.[7] The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FOA) estimates that almost 70 per cent of all water withdrawals worldwide are for farming, and that by 2050 demand for food is expected to grow by more than 50 per cent.[8]  

Yet irrigation systems can be captured by the rich and powerful for their own benefits. Spillages, leakages and bad water treatment can lead to water shortages or make irrigation water toxic and dangerous for agriculture. These situations may strain food security by causing crop failure in communities reliant on subsistence agriculture or leading to a precipitous rise in local food prices for the urban poor.[9]  

Women and the poor are often disproportionally affected by water scarcity as they tend to live in areas not connected to the water table. In many developing countries, women and girls often walk long distances to access water in the dry season, while about 80 per cent of health problems can be linked to inadequate water and sanitation.[10] Yet, resources allocated to water management can be stolen or diverted, undermining the quality and quantity of infrastructure intended to deliver water and transport human waste. The opportunity costs of such an insufficient water supply are especially high for women.[11]    

Beyond its effect on human development, corruption in water management has a devastating impact on environmental integrity, which is of particular concern in the face of climate change. Corruption facilitates activities like illegal logging or illegal mining that lead to water overuse, pollution and the degradation of fragile water-based ecosystems, with a long-term impact on environmental sustainability. Climate adaptation initiatives, such as building flood defences and facilities to use scarce water resources more efficiently, also offer ample room for corruption. For example, in Bangladesh a number of officials were arrested for corruption in the construction of wetlands’ embankments[12]  

Corruption also results in faulty infrastructure and low-quality water treatment. This increases risks of leakage of human waste and infiltration of pollutants into the soil, creating chemical imbalances that threaten freshwater ecosystems, put species at risk of disappearing and jeopardise potable water supplies.[13] This is exacerbated by corruption, while the lack of control in the management of industrial discharge has also been identified as a major source of water pollution, for example, in the garment industry in Bangladesh.[14]  

As such, corruption is an enabling factor in the environmental degradation which exacerbates the looming global water crisis; by 2025 it is estimated that more than 3 billion people will be living in water-stressed countries.[15]