Global Water Initiative
This project is part of the World Economic Forum’ s Shaping the Future of Environment and Natural Resource Security System Initiative
Water is the ultimate systems challenge. It is a unique resource that underpins all drivers of growth – be it agricultural production, energy generation, industry or manufacturing. It also connects these sectors into a broader economic system that must balance social development and environmental interests. A decision to allocate more water to any one sector implies that less water will be available for other economic uses, public water supply and other social services, or environmental protection.
Despite its fundamental role across the economy, water is all too often managed in a fragmented manner, leaving national and regional growth strategies disconnected from insights into available and planned water resources. This results in competition across users, mismanaged trade-offs, disruptions to operations, and under-investment for critical infrastructure.
The Global Water Initiative, as one of the core projects of the System Initiative on Environment and Natural Resource Security, seeks to embed water at the center of economic growth planning. Building on its experience growing large-scale public-private coalitions in the water agenda, the Global Water Initiative is now working with key champions to identify and scale up a new generation of 4IR enabled solutions that can help accelerate implementation of SDG 6, the dedicated goal on water and sanitation. In doing so, it will optimize allocative decision making and enable a more equitable and water-secure environment for users— one that is more conducive in attracting investment and job creation, supporting social stability and preserving the environment.
We should look to nature for solutions to the global water crisis. Here’ s why
New York City faced a challenge in the 1990s: the city needed a new water filtration system to serve its nearly 8 million people. But the prospect of spending $ 6-10 billion on a new water treatment plant, and another $ 100 million on annual operating costs, was daunting. So city officials took a closer look at the source of their water: the Catskill Mountains.
Water from the Catskills flows through 120 miles of forests, farmlands and towns to reach New York City. When that landscape is healthy, it acts as a natural purifying system, but certain development and agricultural practices can result in impaired water quality. For city officials, reaching out to local farmers and landowners and compensating them to restore and conserve their lands in the watershed, combined with some land acquisition, proved to be significantly cheaper than building and operating a new treatment plant.
New York’ s example showed the benefits of public-private partnerships in such situations, and demonstrated that unlocking nature-based solutions can be cheaper and more efficient and produce additional benefits compared to conventional built,“ grey” infrastructure. This was the moment of inspiration for water funds. Water funds are a collective investment vehicle in which stakeholders collaborate to implement nature-based source water protection.
Downstream water users invest in upstream land and water management practices, compensating upstream land managers for restoration activities and better management of agricultural land. Rural landowners and communities can benefit economically from these investments as well. Mutual benefits are the hallmark of successful water funds.
Given that more than 40 % of source watersheds worldwide have been degraded by development, resulting in impaired downstream flows, naturebased source water protection can be one of
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