Tag Archives: water

Rethinking water security in a water-insecure world

Posted on by

“Every time disaster strikes, you rush to bring relief. Why don’t you do more to prevent it?”

The words came from a teenage girl standing amid the devastation of the Odisha Super Cyclone in Eastern India in 1999. At the time, I was a member of the Indian Administrative Service, coordinating relief efforts 48 hours after the storm. Her question cut through the chaos and would shape my life’s work. Relief was necessary, but the real solution lies in building strong, adaptive water systems.

Continue reading →

Securing water in an uncertain world: The power of multi-stakeholder action

Posted on by

The most pressing global risks over the next decade are environmental—and all closely linked to water. Extreme weather, biodiversity loss, critical changes to Earth’s systems, and natural resource shortages top the list of concerns, according to the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report 2025. These risks underscore the need for long-term strategies to safeguard ecosystems, secure resources, and build resilience.

Yet, these risks do not exist in isolation. Misinformation and disinformation rank among the most pressing short-term risks, eroding trust in governance and complicating efforts to address shared crises. Water management is no exception—securing water is not just about scarcity, pollution, or infrastructure, but about governance and cooperation. The challenge lies not only in ensuring water access but in aligning efforts across users, providers, and regulators, to manage it effectively.

Continue reading →

IFI Water Sector Fact Finding Mission

Posted on by

With pleasure we would like to tell you more about our upcoming mission: The Internationalwater_hero Financial Institutions (IFI) Water technology fact-finding mission to Washington D.C. 22-25 January 2024. This event is co-organized with the other private sector liaison officers of Austria, Germany, Spain, Canada, Switzerland and England.

Continue reading →

Unlocking Blue Carbon Development

Posted on by

“Blue carbon” is the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems. These ecosystems include everything from mangroves to seagrass beds and salt marshes. The World Bank’s first-of-its-kind blue carbon readiness framework empowers governments to tap into their full blue carbon potential to benefit people and the planet.

This tool helps governments invest in blue carbon to deliver real and scalable impact for their communities and economies and help meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement.

 
Full Report
 
 
 
 

 

Why GWSP is the partner of choice to deliver on the global water challenge

Posted on by

GWSP’s work is critical for delivering on the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and therice_farmer1140x500.jpg Paris climate commitments.

The World Bank is transforming to become better, faster, and bigger to deliver development impact more effectively for people and the planet. Water security, with an emphasis on climate adaptation, has emerged as a priority for the World Bank to advance its new vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.  Water is central to human development, economic growth, and the health of our planet. But climate change is making this critical resource more scarce, more erratic, and more polluted.

Continue reading →

In Southern Angola, a Race to Manage Scarce Water While Promoting Economic Growth

Posted on by

Beer is 95% water (the rest is alcohol and gas). In Lubango, a city on a high plateau inangola-woman-water-1440x600 Southern Angola, the makers of N’Gola beer depend heavily on a water source of exceptional quality. Rainwater seeps into the vertical crevasses of Tundavala, breathtaking rock formations 2,200 meters above sea level. It collects in the rock then rushes downhill to Lubango, producing at times 200 cubic meters of water per hour. The source is so special it is mentioned on the N’Gola beer label and stylized as a golden waterfall with a crown. 

Continue reading →

Sowing the seeds of change to solve the water crisis

Image

Solving the water crisis is central to our future on a livable planet. Whether it is too much, too little, or too polluted water, this triple threat, exacerbated by climate change, denies billions of people reliable access to safe water and sanitation.  It threatens economies, fuels migration, and can ignite conflict. We need global action to establish water security for green, resilient, and inclusive growth, and to tackle the water-climate-conflict nexus.

Continue reading →

Water knows no borders: Transboundary cooperation is key to water security and avoiding conflict

Posted on by

As pressure mounts on the world’s freshwater resources, closer international cooperation is Albania_fishing_1140x500.jpgneeded to manage the world’s shared rivers, aquifers, and lakes. For decades, the World Bank Group has supported programs to foster cooperation over water as part of ensuring water security for all in support of sustainable development and job creation. Today, climate change and growing demand for scarce water resources are making proactive management of these transboundary waters both more complex and more urgent. 

Continue reading →

The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater’s Critical Role in a Changing Climate

Posted on by

STORY HIGHLIGHTS econ-of-groundwater-india-well-780x439

  • As “nature’s insurance,” groundwater protects food security, reduces poverty, and boosts resilient economic growth, but the resource is threatened by overexploitation and pollution.
  • High-level political action is needed to prioritize groundwater and align the private and social costs of its use.
  • A new World Bank report considers the economic value of groundwater, the costs of misusing it, and the opportunities to leverage it more effectively.

Continue reading →