Vandmangel

Vandmangel, literally 'water shortage' in Danish, is a condition in which the availability of fresh water is insufficient to meet the demand of people, agriculture, and industry in a given area. It can stem from physical scarcity, where renewable freshwater resources are limited, or economic scarcity, where resources exist but are poorly managed or inaccessible due to pollution, governance, or lack of infrastructure. The phenomenon is aggravated by climate change, prolonged droughts, population growth, urbanization, leakage from aging water systems, and pollution from agriculture and industry.

The impacts include threats to human health from unsafe drinking water, reduced crop yields and food security, higher costs for households and businesses, and ecological damage to rivers and wetlands. Water scarcity can also fuel conflict and migration when supplies become unreliable.

Responses focus on governance and efficiency as well as supply augmentation. Policy tools include water pricing and metering to reduce waste, investments in pipes and treatment plants, leak reduction, wastewater collection and reuse, and desalination where appropriate. Demand management—such as irrigation efficiency, drought-tolerant crops, and rainwater harvesting—reduces pressure on supplies. Integrated water resource management, groundwater protection, and transboundary cooperation help ensure long-term resilience.

Vandmangel is monitored using indicators such as access to safe drinking water, per-capita renewable freshwater, reservoir levels, and groundwater trends. At the global level, water security is a central objective of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.