Towards a green economy 1 Introduction

1.1 The aim of this chapter This chapter has three broad aims. First, it highlights the need for providing all households with sufficient and affordable access to clean water supplies as well as adequate sanitation.

Second, it makes a case for early investment in water management and infrastructure, including ecological infrastructure. The potential to make greater use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in reducing water treatment costs and increasing productivity is emphasised.

Third, the chapter provides guidance on the suite of governance arrangements and policy reforms, which, if implemented, can sustain and increase the benefits associated with making such a transition.

1.2 Scope and definition

The scope of this chapter is restricted to freshwater ecosystems, the water supply and sanitation1

and the government and market processes that influence how and where this water is used.

The crucial contribution water makes to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy and industrial production is discussed in other chapters.

The perspective offered in this chapter is one that looks forward 20 years to 2030 and, where possible, to 2050. During the next 20 years, a considerable rise in demand for water of sufficient quantity and quality is expected and changes in local supply conditions are forecast.

The chapter builds on a substantial body of work undertaken in recent years by organisations and committees concerned about the way water resources are being managed.2

To assist with its preparation, 11

background papers were prepared. References to these papers are marked in bold.

1. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines “sanitation” as “the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities. The word ‘sanitation’ also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal.” Available at http://www.who.int/topics/ sanitation/en/

118 sectors

Structure of the chapter This chapter identifies the contribution that water can play in assisting a transition to a green economy. We first present a vision of the role that water ecosystems can play in the transition to a green economy and then provide an overview of the world’s water resources and the services offered by the water supply and sanitation sector. After highlighting some of the more unique characteristics of water, we identify challenges and opportunities to make better use of water and water dependent ecosystems. Building on this knowledge base, the benefits of investing in the water supply and sanitation sector, as a means to assist with a transition to a green economy, are quantified. The chapter closes by identifying institutional reforms, which, if implemented, would increase the returns that could be gained from a commitment to a transition to a green economy.

1.3 Water in a green economy – A vision

As stressed in earlier chapters, in a green economy there is emphasis on the pursuit of opportunities to invest in sectors that rely upon and use natural resources and ecosystem services. At the same time, there is a transition to a suite of policy and administrative arrangements that neither degrade the environment nor impose costs on others. The interests of future generations are considered carefully. In the case of water, many of the potential gains are achieved simply by deciding to invest in the provision of water and sanitation services. Where water is scarce, this scarcity is acknowledged and managed carefully. Progress towards the pursuit of green objectives can be accelerated through the redesign of governance arrangements, the improved specification of property rights, the adoption of policies

2. The recommendations developed in this chapter have been significantly influenced by the:

• Development of the Dublin principles in 1992 which observes that “Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good” (Global Water Partnership 1992);

• Camdessus Report on financing water infrastructure that called for drastic improvements in accountability,

transparency and capacity-building

in the public utility sector coupled with a doubling of funding for the sector (Winpenny 2003);

• Guria Task Force Report on “Financing water for all”, which recommends a transition to full cost recovery, the phasing out of subsidies and the devolution of responsibility for water supply and treatment to local government and municipalities (Guria 2006);

• World Commission on Dams (2000) which warned of the need to carefully assess the costs and likely benefits of major infrastructure investments;

• WHO's various reports on global water supply and sanitation; and • 2030 Water Resources Group’s report (2009) on ways to avoid water crises.