Water and World Economic Forum: the roles of government leadership, partnership and collaboration

The recent session in Davos in Switzerland on "Pathways to a sustainable future" was an excellent opportunity to meet the Minister Edna Molewa of South Africa once again, our highest Government ally in the water resources group.

 

The discussion focused on several aspects of sustainability in addition to water, including access to energy and health (vaccination). When talking about water, we arrived at a clear conclusion - when as important as those faced by the world today challenges the collaboration within the strategies set by Governments is essential. The crucial first step, of course, is to agree on urgent challenges require collaboration. Encouragingly, there is a growing consensus.

Ahead of the meeting of this year, more than 1,000 international experts had to classify the larger priorities among 50 global risks. The global water crisis came second, ahead of other urgent issues as imbalance tax column, food shortages (which, as I have shown in other posts, is closely linked to the overexploitation of water and scarcity) and threats of weapons of mass destruction.

Rating of the world's problems is not the same thing to solve them. But it highlights a growing recognition of the central role water plays in all economic activities. But what is the solution? In my opinion, innovative and disruptive of the partnerships are essential.

To make a material difference on the crisis of water, innovative partnerships need three things, each of which I believe are in the public-private partnership that we develop through the 2030 water resources group:

Firstly, it is essential to establish a clear understanding and deep knowledge of the problem. So that global in scope, the water crisis is manifested in intensely local way. The resource group starts helping Governments to analyse and understand the gap between the withdrawals and the sustainable freshwater supply in specific watersheds. Specifically, it is to work on the amount of water can be saved compared to the actual deficit in power.Secondly, ensure us that the approach that we adopt is tirelessly, factual and analytical. The purpose is to help Governments to implement a forensic understanding of the challenges of local water to drive sustainable economic growth plans. It is to provide a cost of the levers able to curve the gap and give advice on relevant approaches to the locality that measure how much US cents of investment per meter cube of water is saved.Third, innovative partnerships require the right partners, innovative. While Governments are the ultimate intendant of the national water resources, there are limits to what they can achieve without the support of other stakeholders who have a role to play. The 2030 Water Resources Group made a concerted effort to mobilize knowledge and influence throughout the public and private sector, academia and civil society. It combines international bodies such as the World Economic Forum and International Finance Corporation, world Governments, major non-governmental organizations and other business leaders apart from Nestlé, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Partnerships in particular require a political direction and a framework for providing effective solutions. We were particularly happy and proud in this regard that our group included Edna Molewa, Minister of the South African water and Environmental Affairs - and one of the first leaders to understand the gravity and the complexity of the issue of water. Minister Molewa was instrumental in establishing the network of partners strategic water South Africa, a partnership between the Government of South Africa and the water resources dealing with critical issues of water in the region where demand should increase by 52%.

I've blogged about previously, the results show just how powerful this collaboration possible. Through a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach, we are continuing to best learning practices catalogue not only specific countries such as the India, the Mexico and China, but also specific to different river basins.

Only by bridging of the sectors and comprising public, private and civil society can address a challenge as complex as that of the water crisis.

As always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts - particularly around how we can strengthen the collaboration between different types of stakeholders.