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072 WATER SECURITY Even if something is intuitive, it is good to have evidence. And now we have even more evidence than we did before: water resources play a defining role in economic development. This evidence has been provided by the Task Force on Water Security and Sustainable Growth in their publication Securing Water, Sustaining Growth written by an international task force convened by Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Water insecurity drags down economic growth, and the scale of the challenge that can be monetised is in the order of US$500 billion annually (excluding environmental risks) – that’s 1 per cent of global GDP!OTHER FINDINGS IN THE REPORT INCLUDE:Expected global flood damages are estimated at US$120 billion per year from urban property damages alone;Major droughts, on average, were found to reduce per capita GDP growth by half a percentage point;The lack of water security is estimated to cost irrigators US$94 billion per year;The greatest economic losses were found to come from inadequate water supply and sanitation, estimated by the World Health Organization to be US$260 billion per year. In some African countries, these losses amount to 10 per cent of GDP.WATER: KEY TO DEVELOPMENT – AND TO ADAPTATIONRUDOLPH CLEVERINGA, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP (GWP)“ WATER INSECURITY DRAGS DOWN ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE THAT CAN BE MONETISED IS IN THE ORDER OF US$500 BILLION ANNUALLY”These costs of water insecurity will only increase if climate change continues unabated. Furthermore, the effects of climate change will be felt through the entire water cycle. We need water for everything – food, energy, industry, transport, and for drinking and sanitation. With climate change there will be less water in some places and more in others, making the availability of water unpredictable. This increases the risks of both floods and droughts, resulting in economic losses and human suffering. The GWP-OECD report, published by the University of Oxford, highlights the impact of water security on food and energy security. Enhancing water security can reduce both the price, and the price volatility, of staple food crops, a key priority in the global economy. Secure water supplies also reduce risks to energy supplies.The findings conclude that investment in water security safeguards growth in the face of increasing water-related risks. The most beneficial water investments have been connected to integrated planning that combines and sequences investments in infrastructure, institutions, and information over the long-term.Investment is the operative word. In the Policy Statement based on the GWP-OECD report, several countries have signed off on three top-level recommendations:1. Invest in water security;2. Invest in risk management;3. Invest in knowledge, people, and partnerships. If we focus on climate change, the most relevant recommendation is about risk management. South
