The water crisis is undeniable and the corruption challenge it faces is urgent. More than 1 billion people worldwide have no guaranteed access to water and more than 2 billion are without adequate sanitation. It is estimated that by 2025 more than 3 billion people could be living in water stressed countries.

When corruption is part of the equation, the consequences for development and poverty reduction are dire. Corruption can increase the cost of connecting a household to a water network by more than 30 percent, raising the price tag for achieving the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation by a staggering US $48 billion, according to expert estimates in the Global Corruption Report 2008.

Corruption in the water sector casts a wide and destructive net.

Households pay with their health, as poor quality or non-existent water supplies increase their vulnerability to deadly diseases: in developing countries 80 percent of health problems can be linked to inadequate water and sanitation.

Corruption opens water policies to manipulation by powerful stakeholders. Bid-rigging and kick-backs inflate the cost of water infrastructure, bribery and embezzlement divert irrigation water away from small farmers and drain irrigation budgets. Corruption leads to unchecked water pollution and overuse, putting water supplies at risk – today and for future generations.

Irrigation consumes 70 percent of the water that humans take out of nature and helps produce 40 percent of the world’s food. Expanding irrigation systems is key to addressing the current global food crisis. Governments and donors throughout the world have announced massive new investments for this purpose.

Corruption stands to critically undermine these efforts. To illustrate, in India, a country at the centre of the food crisis, corruption is estimated to add at least 25 percent to irrigation contracts and contributes to a system of political handouts and compromised oversight.

Climate change, political stability and governance

By 2020 it is estimated that between 75 and 250 million people in Africa alone will be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change. As water becomes scarce and more precious, corruption becomes more lucrative and likely. Less water and more corruption is a lethal combination and the poor are likely to be the hardest hit. Conflicts such as in Darfur, Sudan are increasingly linked to corrupt governance and local water shortages intensified by climate change.

Corruption also impairs our ability to adapt to climate change. Changing weather conditions and rising sea levels will demand massive new investment in water infrastructure and resettlement programmes, both identified as hot spots for corruption by the 2008 Global Corruption Report.

Risking energy with corrupt water

One-sixth of the world’s electricity comes from hydropower, making it a central issue in the debate about a sustainable energy future. The investment expected in this sector is huge: approximately US $1.9 trillion between 2005 and 2030. As the 2008 Global Corruption Report documents, corruption can be found at all stages of the hydropower dam project cycle, from project design and assessment to construction and operation phases.

As well as undermining the long term viability of dam projects, the costs of corruption are considerable for people and the environment. With up to 80 million people displaced by dams in the last decades, resettlement programmes are also a rich seam for corruption, and take a particular toll on poor displaced communities. The Report provides ample evidence of resettlement schemes in many countries being manipulated by powerful interests and money not reaching the intended beneficiaries due to corruption.

• La gestión del agua también se corrompe
  El Pais, 26 June 2008
• Gulf states advised to tackle fraudsters
  The National, 26 June 2008
• GLOBAL: Killer kickbacks - corruption in water sector affects millions
  IRIN News, 26 June 2008
• Corruption a catalyst for global water crisis, says report
  EurActiv, 26 June 2008
• Study hits at graft in water projects
  Financial Times, 26 June 2008
  Poor pay most for water corruption, says anti-graft watchdog
  Agence France-Presse, 26 June 2008
• Transparencia Internacional denuncia la corrupción en el sector agua
  Clave Digital, 25 June 2008
• Contrato de Itaipu abre portas para corrupção, diz ONG
  BBC Brazil, 25 June 2008
• Aguas turbias
  BBC World, 25 June 2008
• Коррупция в водном хозяйстве угрожает жизням миллиардов людей
  RIA Novosti, 25 June 2008
• Corruption threatens water supply for billions: report
  CBC News, 25 June 2008
• CORRUPTION: Graft Sapping Precious Water Resources
  Inter Press Service, 25 June 2008
• Water sector corruption threatens lives, environment
  Reuters, 25 June 2008
• Tatort Wasser
  Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany, 25 June 2008
• Brazilian Tribes Say Dam Threatens Way of Life
  NPR, 31 May 2008
• Uzbekistan: Aral Region Population Encounters Shortage of Water
  Turkish Weekly, 29 May 2008
• Poor hurt most by water corruption - Interview with Donal O'Leary
  Reuters, 22 August 2007