Water in the Green Economy - Global Water Partnership

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PERSPECTIVES PAPERMoving forwardAn IWRM approach to development is a potentiallypowerful tool to facilitate and lead the process of‘greening’ the world’s economies.Green growth requires a significant shift in thinkingon the way economies are run. There is a risk thatchange will be too slow. There are dangers that greengrowth will be hijacked by advocates who manipulateBox 8: Extending IWRM to encourage entrepreneurship (Basis - Boost – Balance)‘Basis’ is about sustaining production systems – maintaining and protecting land, water, and ecosystems asthe foundation for green growth.‘Boost’ is about economic growth. There are examples of development, such as irrigated farming, that havehelped to increase production but have not necessarily contributed to poverty eradication and the developmentof entrepreneurship. Transboundary water resource issues are often restricted to compacts andagreements only to share water and often overlook the opportunities to share products and trade amongriparian states. Economic development does not necessarily emerge by itself, rather it requires stimulus toinitiate innovative business opportunities. Green growth requires dedicated initiation of activities that leadto both technical and non-technical innovations which can speed up poverty eradi-cation and economicdevelopment using implicit knowledge, public participation, and co-creation processes.‘Balance’ is about getting the right balance between economic growth and maintaining the naturalresource base. There are many examples, such as the disappearance of the Aral Sea in Central Asia andLake Chad in Central Africa and the irreversible biodiversity losses worldwide that have resulted from notgetting this balance right. There are helpful, widely available instruments such as environmental impactassessments, water footprints, and lifecycle analyses. But they are often used only for single activities suchas building a dam. So it is still difficult to address the intrinsic interactions at different scales – local,catchment, regional, global.Froebrich, 201112
Water in the Green EconomyThe transition from current practice will require aparadigm shift. Integration is central to achievingsuch a fundamental shift, as is harnessing strongpartnerships between policy makers, professionals andlocal communities in both the developing anddeveloped world.it to fit their own political agendas. This could lead toinefficient and costly policies that achieve neithergrowth, nor natural resources protection, nor intergenerationalequity. There is discussion about employmentimpacts with some seeing opportunities andothers using the rhetoric of ‘green jobs’ to promoteunrelated policy aims. Poverty reduction is a keyelement of green growth but some may use it topromote anti-trade positions that militate againstreducing poverty. Similarly, businesses can market the‘green’ label while continuing to pollute or lobbyselectively against policies that threaten their nongreenpractices.Such approaches are unhelpful, not thought through,and contradicted by both economic theory and theexperience of the world economy.Experience shows that such concepts can lead toendless academic debate, studies, and revised policiesand plans, all of which delay action. Green growth hasto address natural resources more broadly, in particularfor water. However, there is a risk that politicalattention and funding will be targeted entirely atclimate mitigation related to energy issues whileneglecting water or other natural resources. This isalready happening to some extent.Governments need policy instruments that accelerateprogress to a green economy. Seeking a greeneconomy will not be easy and will require unpopulardecisions. For example, the price of natural resourceswill have to increase. This is happening for oil andminerals, and water and food may have to go thesame way if it is to be taken as a serious part of thegreen economy and not just exploited. Similarly,subsidies for environmental ‘bads’, including waterpollution, have to be removed and taxes reformed topromote natural resource efficiency not profligatewaste. Incentives are needed for business to adoptgreen practices and government investmentprogrammes should target climate adaptation (e.g.,flood measures, water reuse and recycling) andresearch for new green technologies. This will have tobe accompanied by public awareness to promotegreen solutions. It is essential that we develop aframework for green growth and water security thatincorporates the integrated approach and addresseswater within wider socio-economic goals.Box 9: Green growth creates new watermarket opportunities and new employmentThe global water industry is on the cusp ofmassive change. By 2016 the capital expenditureon water infrastructure is estimated to increase1.5 times from US$90 billion in 2010 to US$ 131billion (Global Water Intelligence, 2011)About 0.5 million new jobs will be created by2025 in South Africa as a direct result of greeneconomic initiatives, half of them in naturalresources management. This is according to astudy by the Industrial Development Cooperation,the Development Bank of Southern Africa, andTrade and Industry Policy and Strategies.Maia et al, 201113
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Water in the Green Economy - Global Water Partnership

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