WATER P-NOTES ISSUE 7 JUNE 2008 44727 Sink or Swim--Toward Water Security for All H arnessing the productive potential of water the challenge of managing water is almost without and limiting its destructive impacts have precedent. challenged the human species since its ori- gins. Many of the earliest civilizations, particularly Yet in recent years the development of water those on the floodplains of the world's major rivers, infrastructure, particularly large-scale water infra- succeeded by harnessing water, often in nation- structure, has been stalled by a general perception building efforts that spawned great civilizations. But that it is bad for the environment and for populations water is also a force for destruction--catastrophical- affected by water projects. That perception has be- ly through drought, flood, landslides, and epidemic, come a barrier to further extensions of our ability to and progressively through erosion, inundation, harness water for good and to control its destructive desertification, contamination, and disease. Wa- power. Opposition, particularly to the financing of ter also has been a source of dispute, particularly dams for storage, hydropower, and other purposes, where it crosses jurisdictional boundaries. has had significant political impact on the aid poli- cies of donor governments and international orga- Today, where water supplies are adequate and nizations. The controversy and criticism that often reliable, societies are relatively rich. Water security attend infrastructure investments have left little appe- was easily achieved in temperate climates where tite among aid donors for developing water resourc- rainfall is not extremely variable. By contrast, where es infrastructure in poor countries and tackling the water is scarce, variable, and uncontrolled, most unavoidable tradeoffs that such development entails. societies have remained poor, and basic water security has not been achieved. There are other Discussions of the growth and poverty implica- reasons why societies are poor or rich, but the tions of diminished support for water infrastructure significance of water security is considerable--and in the developing world would benefit greatly from little recognized. a better understanding of how developed countries have dealt with hydrological vulnerability; how they Over time, human beings have developed res- have used strategic investments in water infrastruc- ervoirs of knowledge and experience about how to ture to alleviate poverty and catalyze growth; and control and manage water, but, with economic de- how they learned to balance risk and benefit in wa- velopment and population growth, the demands on ter development. water have grown apace. This is true in all industrial countries, which invested early and heavily in water infrastructure, institutions, and management capac- Three water-development ity. It is equally true in developing countries, where scenarios investments in water development and manage- ment remain an urgent priority. In some develop- In all industrialized countries, the flows of almost all ing countries--often the poorest--the severity of major rivers are regulated and managed, making This note reports the key messages and findings of "Sink or Swim? Water Security for Growth and Development," by David Grey (dgrey@worldbank.org) and Claudia Sadoff, published by the World Bank in June 2007. Readers may download the complete paper from www.worldbank.org/water. WATER P-NOTES it possible to store water for multiple uses (figure crucial for leveraging and sustaining growth that 1), reduce peak flows, increase low flows, and may now be hampered by hydrology. protect water quality. Early investments were made In India, for example, investments in hydraulic in bulk water infrastructure and in the human ca- infrastructure and irrigation have contributed signifi- pacity required to operate and maintain it. In most cantly to growth. Still, important opportunities remain countries, the infrastructure platform is mature, so to extend the benefits of infrastructure for irrigation, that policy makers and water practitioners focus on drainage, and flood management. The potential ben- efficient management of water infrastructure and efits of improved institutions are similarly significant. on protecting the environment and the recreational In Tamil Nadu, for example, robust management potential of bodies of water. institutions that would allow a flexible allocation of Water infrastructure in the United States, for water between uses could increase the state's agricul- example, represents a cumulative investment of tural production by 20 percent in 20 years. trillions of dollars to curb the destructive effects of In the least-developed economies, climate water, extend agricultural production, and promote variability is often marked, while the infrastructure growth. Such investments have entailed substantial and institutions needed to mitigate its effects are social and environmental costs, as well. Public de- generally inadequate. Catastrophic hydrological bate on the importance of conservation have led to events regularly exact dramatic costs, with declines the adoption of environmental standards and social in annual GDP often exceeding 10 percent. As a safeguards. Over the next decade, the United States consequence of widespread expectation that unmiti- will spend some $200 billion to meet its environ- gated catastrophes will recur, risk-averse behavior mental standards. becomes the rule, undermining investment even Most industrializing economies also have made in years unmarked by catastrophe. Growth is held substantial investments in water infrastructure, often hostage to hydrology. to promote growth--for example, through hydro- In Ethiopia, for example, the current economic power and irrigation. But many industrializing econ- cost of hydrological variability is estimated at more omies remain vulnerable to catastrophic events, than one-third of the nation's average annual such as floods and droughts. In other cases, infra- growth potential, and these diminished rates are structure has been built, but institutional capacity is compounded over time. Although its hydrological inadequate to manage it effectively, underscoring variability is much greater than that of North Amer- the imperative of balancing and sequencing invest- ica, Ethiopia has less than 1 percent of the artificial ments in infrastructure and in related institutions. water storage capacity per capita to manage that Getting this balance right in individual countries is variability. Figure 1. Reservoir storage per capita, (m3/cap), 2003 7000 5,961 6000 5000 4,717 4000 3,386 3000 2,486 2000 1,104 1,277 1000 687 38 0 Ethiopia South Mexico Thailand China Brazil Australia North Africa America ISSUE 7 · JUNE 2008 developing world. Developing countries chafe un- Box 1. Water security defined der the pressure to adopt the values, priorities, and standards of developed countries--and to forgo Water security is the availability of an acceptable investing in the water infrastructure they believe they quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and production, coupled with an accept- need to achieve the benefits of good water man- able level of water-related risks to people, environ- agement. ments, and economies. Drawing on their own experience, and already Implicit in the notion of water security is the idea of a enjoying the benefits of a mature platform of water minimum platform of water institutions and infrastruc- infrastructure, most donor nations are more focused ture, below which society and the economy are not on improving the institutional management of ex- resilient to the impact of water shocks, and water is a isting systems than on investing in new ones. But significant obstacle to growth. better management may provide little return where physical infrastructure remains insufficient to meet hydrological demands (figure 2). The donors' cli- Toward water security ents, meanwhile, may well prefer to invest in more infrastructure, while mitigating the inevitable costs through the pragmatic application of social and en- The investments and institutions required for basic vironmental safeguards. water security (defined in box 1) will differ across countries as a consequence of their hydrological Below a minimum platform of water infrastruc- endowment and the structure of their economy. ture a society is highly vulnerable to water-related International rivers can also significantly affect the shocks, making it impossible to guide economic potential for managing and developing water, as growth reliably and predictably. Once basic water different countries exert their impact on shared river security is achieved, however, societies are suffi- and lake systems. Climate change, too, will com- ciently resilient to the impacts of water so that water pound the challenge posed by hydrological variabil- underpins, rather than undermines, growth. ity and extremes, particularly in poor countries. Countries need effective institutions if they are to harness hydrology, but, in much of the devel- oping world, institutions have not keep pace with population growth or technology. This trend is not Figure 2. Returns on investments in new. Over the past century, our technical capacity managing water infrastructure rise to exploit water resources has grown faster than our as the stock of infrastructure grows ability to manage these advances. One culprit is an explosion in technologies and engineering capa- Balancing and Sequencing Investments bilities. The case of groundwater is illustrative. The in water infrastructure & management customary law of groundwater development was well-adapted to technologies that allowed ground- water abstraction at shallow depths, but motorized infrastructure investments management drilling rigs and pumps, which allow higher pump- investments ing rates from greater depths, have made those customary practices obsolete in many areas, while Investment resulting in massive and sometimes irreversible on overabstraction of groundwater. Technology is not the only test of our institu- eturnsR tions. As countries grow and their populations become more secure, they typically place greater developing developed value on environmental preservation. That the in- Infrastructure Stock dustrialized countries have already reached this point explains a good deal of their opposition to Adapted from World Bank China Country Water Resources Assistance Strategy 2002 dams and other large water infrastructure in the WATER P-NOTES Therein lies a challenge. Can the lessons of Association, as well as the environmental and social developed countries, enhanced by local and indig- safeguards of the World Bank. These lessons allow enous knowledge, provide insights into alternative us to avoid constraining growth and development management strategies and infrastructure designs unduly as we uphold evolving values about social and operations that achieve water security, growth, equity and environmental protection. and poverty alleviation, but at lower environmental Among the important advances are those re- and social cost? lated to water resource management, economic The answer is yes. A wide range of experience resilience, and social inclusion and equity. in water resource management and development, Managing water resources. Allocation mecha- social inclusion, and economic management can be nisms in widespread use--such as water rights and tapped to guide countries as they endeavor to leap- regulations, and water pricing and fees--ensure frog over some of the stages passed through by the better management of water resources. Important developed countries, while avoiding some of their evolving practices include innovations in environ- mistakes. Water infrastructure can be built without mental and social impact analyses (particularly of penalizing local communities or the environment, project-affected populations and environments), while allowing the economy and society at large to in-stream flow management, environmental set- benefit from the growth and other benefits that such asides, demand management, enhancement of investments make possible. Through pragmatic ap- natural water storage and regulation, and benefit plication of international good practice, developing sharing with affected populations and transbound- countries can achieve water security, reduce poverty, ary neighbors. and promote growth without imposing the environ- mental and social burdens of years past. Economic resilience. Steps can be taken to make the economies of water-insecure nations less vulnerable to water shocks. Among those steps are The way forward greater investment in water-resilient sectors and ar- eas, water pricing that provides appropriate incen- A great deal of progress has been made in water tives, trade in "virtual water," and greater economic resource management in recent years, with a broad diversification. global consensus emerging from the 1992 Earth Social inclusion and equity. An enduring chal- Summit in Rio and later expressed in what are now lenge in water management is balancing the as- known as the Dublin Principles. International stan- pirations of society at large with the protection of dards and safeguards for reducing the social and groups affected by water projects. Better impact environmental costs of investments in water infra- analysis, tighter safeguards, greater transparency, structure are supported by a growing body of tools, and more extensive participation and communica- such as the recommendations of the World Com- tion are important parts of new approaches to the mission on Dams and the International Hydropower planning and execution of projects. The Water Sector Board Practitioner Notes (P-Notes) series is published by the Water Sector Board of the Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank Group. P-Notes are available online at www.worldbank.org/water. P-Notes are a synopsis of larger World Bank documents in the water sector. THE WORLD BANK | 1818 H Street, NW | Washington, DC 20433 www.worldbank.org/water | whelpdesk@worldbank.org