MEASURING WATER USE IN A GREEN ECONOMY - UNEP

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2 Concepts, frameworks and definitions 2.1 Green economy Natural resources are a key factor in the transition to a green economy. As the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (2009) observed: ‘Quantifying the way that water flows through the global hydrological system, different ecosystems and economies is essential for managing water resources, maintaining ecosystem services and ultimately protecting human health and the environment.’ At its most basic level, a green economy is one that generates increasing prosperity while maintaining the natural systems that sustain our societies and our economies. Historically, economic growth has imposed ever-greater pressures on natural systems, in terms both of demand for resources and the burden of emissions and wastes. But, as is increasingly understood, economic development can only continue in the long term if we break the link with environmental harm. Before exploring the types of indicators needed to guide this transition, it is worth reflecting on what a ‘green economy’ entails and how it relates to other concepts such as sustainable development, natural capital, resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production. Figure 2.1 The world economy Figure 2.1 operates within and depends on the global ecosystem Central to the notion of a green economy is the recognition that economic activities operate within the global ecosystem and rely on it to provide resource inputs and assimilate wastes and emissions. Crucially, the Earth is a closed material system which in turn shapes the way in which economies can grow sustainably. Using resources or emitting pollutants beyond The world economy operates within and depends on the global ecosystem Global ecosystem Natural capital provides material inputs... World economy Production Consumption With a limited sustainable throughput of resources, longterm economic growth requires enhanced resource efficiency ...and absorbs waste outputs Source: EEA (2011a). 14
Measuring water use in a green economy Figure 2.2 Figure 2.2 Creating a green economy: a triple challenge Creating a green economy: a triple challenge Green Economy Ecosystem (natural capital) Goal: maintain ecological resilience Economy (manufactered and financial capital) Goal: improve resource efficiency Human well-being (social and human capital) Goal: enhance social equity and fair burden-sharing Source: EEA (2011b) ecosystem limits damages the natural capital base, reducing its ability to provide goods and services. In this sense, ecosystems are seen as a form of capital. Maintaining the world’s natural capital will contribute to economic output by providing valuable renewable resources and services. Over-exploiting the natural capital, for example by emitting excessive pollutants, will reduce its ability to provide further goods and services. The transition to a green economy presents a triple challenge. First, there is a need to focus on the economy, finding ways to increase prosperity without increasing resource use and environmental impacts - put simply, being more resource-efficient. By itself, however, resource efficiency cannot guarantee steady or declining resource use or sustainability: the world could become more efficient but still put excessive demands on the environment. So the second challenge, to achieve sustainability, is the need to maintain ecosystem resilience, which is governed by the status, trends and limits of natural systems. The third element is human wellbeing, including health, employment, job satisfaction, social capital and equity. This also includes a fair distribution of the benefits and costs of the transition to the green economy. In balancing environmental, economic and social elements, the green economy concept evidently has much in common with some models of sustainable development, which sees the triple challenge of economic efficiency, ecological sustainability and social equity. 2.2 Water and the green economy 2.2.1 Water management as part of the economy Shifting to a green economy requires careful management of all resources, especially water, which differs from other resources in some very important ways. First, water is arguably more fundamental than any other resource - to life itself, supporting a huge array of ecosystem services, and to every economy and society. As the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2005) 15
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Water is an essential resource for
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MEASURING WATER USE IN A GREEN ECONOMY - UNEP

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