News & Comment

As the next UN Water Conference approaches, the world must look beyond SDG6 and short-term deadlines. A broader, more adaptive vision is essential to address the political, social, and environmental realities of water.

The global water agenda is outdated and narrow and is framed mainly as a downstream impact sector. Scientists must step up to help the world recognize water as an opportunity sector and to design a bolder water agenda.

The design of separation membranes depends on accurately interpreting transport processes, making this a timely moment to reassess the models and simulations used in such studies and to consider more optimal approaches.

Three years after the launch of Nature Water, we assess our development as a journal and provide clearer guidance on the boundaries of our scope.

Although it is widely recognized that safeguarding air, soil, and water is essential for protecting both animal and human health, efforts to protect the environment remain insufficient.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has protected human health and the environment for over five decades and it has achieved this while operating on a small budget. It is time to recognize the essential role that protecting the environment has on human health and to increase EPA funding rather than reducing it further.

In areas under siege, the growing of fruits and vegetables and the keeping of livestock have always provided a lifeline for desperate urban populations. Lessons from siege warfare in modern times should be applied to the development of innovative humanitarian interventions aimed at facilitating urban agriculture and food security programmes during future sieges.

The number of emerging contaminants in our soil–water environments is increasing at an explosive rate. Risk avoidance as a strategy is often overlooked yet may be one of the most effective ways to safeguard human health in the future.

Metal–organic frameworks are evolving from niche materials to mainstream solutions. With continued efforts and interdisciplinary collaboration, their role in water-related technologies will only grow.

To advance the energy transition, we must improve energy models by accurately representing hydropower. This demands political and institutional commitment to establish harmonized, authoritative databases on river flow and dam design that are currently lacking.

Small islands provide early warning signals of climate- and disaster-driven impacts, while serving as real-world testbeds in which to develop adaptation strategies for continental water-supply infrastructure. This island-based approach could also be applicable to other critical infrastructure sectors on the mainland.

A transferable and operational model involving cross-sector collaborations, transdisciplinary project co-design and translation of cutting-edge research, has unlocked integrated investment in river catchment solutions in northern England.

People stand at the heart of water conflicts and their solutions. The way we act, cooperate, and decide will determine whether water fuels disputes or builds peace and sustainable growth. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed on 19 September 1960, demonstrated that diplomacy led by citizens can shape water management and policy. Sixty-five years later, it is time to reimagine it in a way that empowers citizens, beyond governments, to drive water cooperation and long-term security.

Urban water management often prioritizes engineering efficiency over local ecological and social contexts. Landscape architects can leverage high-resolution modelling and vernacular intelligence to design resilient, culturally embedded solutions.

Water is the key driving force behind the cycling of Earth’s essential elements — carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals across the atmosphere, land, and oceans. Understanding water’s role in this grander cycle is central to our responses to accelerating environmental changes.

Technology alone cannot solve the water pollution crisis in local and Indigenous communities. Its potential must be reconciled with the ethos of those it aims to serve and with the historical mistrust bred by extractive practices.