Navigating the WatersStrategic Solutions for Water ResilienceSeptember 2023By Torsten Kurth, Dean Muruven, Jester Koldijk, John Staunton Sykes, and Adam WlostowskiWith major contributions from Stuart Orr and Richard Lee of the WWF Freshwater Practice Coordination Team and from the WWF Water Risk Filter team1 NAVIGATING THE WATERS: STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS FOR WATER RESILIENCE Navigating the WatersStrategic Solutions for Water ResilienceReaders might react skeptically. Hasn’t access to freshwater steadily improved for decades? And didn’t the recent United Nations Water Conference address this problem? Why should we worry about water when other challenges seem harder to solve? The reality, however, is both worse (because we are facing a global water crisis) and better (because new ideas and emerging technologies can help overcome the challenges) than many people imagine.Part I: The Water CrisisThe Water Crisis: Myths to Clear Away Many responses to the crisis echo common myths, so let’s begin by addressing these misconceptions.Myth 1: The Water Crisis Is Like the Carbon CrisisUnlike carbon emissions, water issues are hyperlocal. One region might face severe drought, while another a few hundred miles away has an abundant supply of water. Quality varies widely, too: the groundwater in one area might be undrinkable, while neighbors who benefit from a different geology can drink freely from their wells. That hyperlocality complicates efforts to coordinate global action. It’s much easier to set national limits on fungible emissions that flow freely into the atmosphere. Not sur-prisingly, we have a global framework for measuring and disclosing carbon emissions, but not for gauging and up-holding water standards. Likewise,...
