Decades of mismanagement of water resources, deforestation, and the fossil fuel-driven crisis of global warming have put “unprecedented stress” on the Earth’s water systems, according to a new report, and have thrown the world’s hydrological cycle out of balance “for the first time in human history.”

The Global Commission on the Economics of Water, affiliated with the Dutch government and comprised of global experts, published the study on Thursday, warning that policymakers must urgently “reframe the hydrological cycle as a global common good,” recognizing that it is “deeply interlinked with the climate and biodiversity crises.”

The hydrological cycle, or water cycle, is the continuous circulation of water between the planet’s oceans, land, and atmosphere. The experts involved in the new report warn that rising temperatures and pollution—driven by continued fossil fuel emissions and other industrial impacts—are among the factors that are “undermining an equitable and sustainable future for all” in terms of water access.

The commission said a “new economics of water” is needed, recognizing that water connects countries and regions through atmospheric water flows as well as bodies of water.

“We must reshape our shared […]