Access to Water‐Related Services Strongly Modulates Human Development.

Water enables health, education, and economic well‐being opportunities for humanity. Access to basic water and sanitation services, freshwater variability, and water storage are some of the dimensions that may impact on human development worldwide. Yet few studies quantitatively explore the relationship between water and human development. This study uses a statistical approach to quantify the Water‐Human Development relation in a global sample, both in terms of correlation and causality between variables. Correlation is established using a multiple linear regression approach, while causality is explored by implementing the multi‐spatial convergent cross mapping technique. Our study finds strong interdependence between water‐related variables and human development globally. Access to water services positively influences the Human Development Index (HDI), seasonal variability of freshwater resources restricts it, and large water storage is not significant. The analysis is robust between 2000 and 2017, and implies that a 1% increment in a country's HDI is associated with a 1.3%–3.2% increment in water and sanitation access. Causal analyses show strong coupling, suggesting positive feedback between access to water services and HDI that could be exploited. Reaching Sustainable Development Goal 6 requires closing the water and sanitation access gaps while addressing freshwater variability challenges. This will result in global human development benefits. Plain Language Summary: This research explores the relation between water dimensions and human development across the world. To do so we used publicly available global datasets of international organizations in the period between 2000 and 2017. Statistical tools were used to determine the strength and causality in the relation between water and development. We found that access to drinking water and sanitation services are deeply interrelated with human development. However, heavily marked dry and wet seasons represent a significant threat for human development. Interestingly, we also encounter that neither the density of large water reservoirs in a country nor the amount of stored water per person in a country affect human development in a significant way. Our results evidence that raising a country's water and sanitation coverage by around 2% is tied to a 1% increase of human development in the long run. More efforts are needed to prevent the negative effects of floods and droughts in countries with high water variability. Evidence shows that to have access to water rather than just store it represents the most benefit for people across the globe. Therefore, to prioritize access to basic water services will bring long term benefits for human development worldwide. Key Points: Human development is correlated to access to water services and freshwater variability, yet not statistically linked to large water storageWater variables are long‐term predictors of human development (2000–2017)Causality analyses indicate that water and human development are mutually interdependent [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]