Research led by Oxford University highlights the accelerating pressure on measuring, monitoring and managing water locally and globally. A new four-part framework is proposed to value water for sustainable development to guide better policy and practice. Multiple policies will be needed for multiple goals. Water security is a growing global concern. We argue that valuing water is fundamentally about navigating trade-offs. The negative impacts of water shortages, flooding and pollution have placed water related risks among the top 5 global threats by the World Economic Forum for several years running. In 2015, Oxford-led research on water security quantified expected losses from water shortages, inadequate water supply and sanitation and flooding at approximately $500B USD annually. The value of water for people, the environment, industry, agriculture and cultures has been long-recognised, not least because achieving safely-managed drinking water is essential for human life. Valuing water requires that we value institutions." The scale of the investment for universal and safely-managed drinking water and sanitation is vast, with estimates around $114B USD per year, for capital costs alone. The growing consensus is that valuing water goes beyond monetary value or price. Current water management policies are outdated and unsuited to addressing the water related challenges of the 21st century. This unprecedented recognition of the cultural and environmental value of rivers in law compels us to re-examine the role of rivers in society and sustainable development, and rethink our paradigms for valuing water." Co-author Richard Damania, Global Lead Economist, World Bank Water Practice: "We show that water underpins development, and that we must manage it sustainably.
It is odd to me how much water humans actually use; we use it for showers, toilets, washing dishes, washing our cars, and it all seems like such a waste of such a precious and valuable resources. I do not know about anybody else, but when someone tells me that water...the thing we need to SURVIVE is depleting, it makes me rather concerned. Because it is such a common thing, everyone feels as though water is in abundance. In actuality, water is depleting rapidly, and the droughts from the increasing earthen temperatures are not helping. Who cares about the monetary value of water...it is something that humans need to survive, which is why I have always found the bottled water companies the smartest people on earth; they can literally sell people something that is required to survive and make a profit. Mother earth cries...and we spitefully dry her tears.
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