Disambiguation of water use statistics

Water statistics at all levels are crucial for sustainable development and management. They shape policy, decision-making, and act as a proxy for development. Integrated Water Resources Management plans around basic information on water resources and use. Unfortunately, the nomenclature surrounding water information is often confusing and gives rise to different interpretations and thus confusion. When discussing the way in which renewable water resources are utilized, the terms water use, withdrawal, consumption, abstraction, extraction, utilization, supply and demand are often used without clearly stating what is meant. This note attempts to shed light on how the AQUASTAT programme defines these terms, although readers should be aware that these definitions are not globally standardized. Harmonization efforts within the UN system are ongoing.