The 2030 WRG hosted a session on ‘Collective Action for Agri-Water Efficiency and Non-Point Source Pollution in the Ganga Basin – A Multi-stakeholder Approach’, and also supported a session hosted by the FICCI Water Mission on ‘Imperatives for Urban Waste Water PPPs: towards a viable business model for municipal sewage treatment’.
Both events were held during the 2015 India Water Week from 13 to 17 January. Session outcomes and recommendations will be made available soon.
Photo: Har Ki Pairi, Hardwar in India. By Lord of the Wings.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2015-01-17 02:49:432019-10-25 19:20:44India Water Week: Agri-Water Efficiency and Urban Waste Water PPPs
“The 2030 Water Resources Group and the World Economic Forum (WEF) collaborated to organize a private session on Collective Action towards Water Enabled Growth in India on Tuesday Nov. 4 in New Delhi. The session was moderated by Mr. Anil B. Jain, Managing Director, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. Anders Berntell, executive director of the 2030 WRG show cased their multi-stakeholder approach in India and across the globe.
Panel members were Dr. S.K. Goel (Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra), Etienne Benet (Managing Director, Nestle India) and Arunabha Ghosh (CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water), representing government, private sector, civil society and development agencies respectively.
The round table discussions were framed by Dr. Amarjit Singh (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India) who called for private sector involvement in the government’s Ganga Rejuvenation initiative. A lively round table discussion then focussed on challenges and opportunities for multi-stakeholder involvement in the Ganga river basin. Consensus seems to build up that government, private sector and civil society need to hold hands to make the Ganga clean-up successful.”
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2014-11-06 00:33:522014-11-06 00:33:52Collective Action towards Water Enabled Growth in India
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane yesterday met with the leadership team of the public – private sector led multi-stakeholder platform called the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN).
Minister Mokonyane emphasised that water management should be driven by national objectives such as job creation, eliminating inequality and reducing poverty. The Minister offered her full support to the SWPN, emphasising that the partnership has the value of being a two-way sounding board that both the DWS and the corporate sector should use to improve the country’s water management.
The SWPN was launched in late November 2011 by the former Minister with the help of the World Economic Forum and the 2030 Water Resources Group. Since then it has transformed itself from an engagement forum of a small leading group of pathfinders to a robust functional multi-stakeholder partnership that is inspiring other sectors, other countries and starting to achieve significant results on the ground.
In his presentation of SWPN projects, Andre Fourie, Co-Chair of the SWPN and Head of Environmental Value at SABMiller, said that the rallying point of this public-private-civil society partnership was to develop and to bring to scale projects that would close a 17% national gap between water supply and demand that is projected for the year 2030. Mr Fourie added that driven by this goal, the SWPN is a collaborative space where the public and private sector work together to develop solutions to address current water management challenges. He further acknowledged that the success of this partnership is owed to continued political leadership from the department.
Ravi Pillay of Nestle talked about the No Drop programme that was developed by the SWPN and is now being implemented by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The programme has developed a regulatory and partnership strategy, as well as tools to incentivise a reduction in water losses (leaks, meter problems and theft) in municipalities from the current 32% to 18% by 2025. This result will save the country over R2.5 billion in annual revenue that would otherwise have been lost from municipal water systems.
On the issue of water quality challenges related to mine impacted waters, Nandha Govender from Eskom spoke about how the SWPN is providing guidance on planning for mining and water management at wider scales beyond individual mine facilities.
In the area of agricultural water, Ian Hirschfeld of Coca-Cola said that the SWPN is developing a business case to enhance private sector investment in the rehabilitation of the Vaalharts irrigation scheme, the largest in South Africa. The project has the dual objective of improving productivity and water access to new farmers.
The work was appreciated by the new DWS Director-General (DG), Ms Margaret-Ann Diedricks. The DG also recommended that the partnership, in addition to municipal water reduction, looks at industrial water use efficiency as well. She then committed that the Department will assign relevant senior members to be involved to ensure continued success of this partnership.
Minister Mokonyane concluded that she saw great potential in the SWPN, saying that an open, long lasting and robust relationship between the private sector and the department including its entities is essential for addressing water security and national development goals. She provided some guidance to the SWPN leadership with regard to additional issues that include addressing sanitation, direct interaction with community groups, and the role of the private sector in financing infrastructure.
Financial support for the SWPN is provided by the following organisations: the 2030 Water Resources Group, Absa, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Coca-Cola, the Department of Water and Sanitation, Eskom, Exxaro, GIZ, Nestle, Sasol and South African Breweries. The NEPAD Business Foundation hosts the SWPN Secretariat.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
The SWPN Secretariat
Tel: +27 10 596 1888/1893
E-mail: swpn.secretariat@thenbf.co.za
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2014-10-24 10:04:452014-10-24 16:08:13South African Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane strengthens relations with business
We are excited to have joined hands with PepsiCo in jointly launching the Report “Delivering access to safe water through partnerships”. It illustrates various ways partnerships leverage support to enable creative new strategies that achieve measurable and sustainable progress in the fight to alleviate water insecurity and provide access to safe water.
This includes water conservation, distribution, purification and hygiene for underserved communities in China, India, Mali, Brazil, Colombia and other Latin American countries.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2014-09-01 12:10:312015-02-23 16:46:46Delivering access to safe water through partnerships
Water demand set to rise by 52% within the next 30 years in South Africa
South Africa joins the governments of Jordan, Mexico and the State of Karnataka in India as a partner with the Water Resources Group
Cape Town, South Africa– At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced today a Declaration of Partnership. Recognizing the critical role that water plays as a catalyst for both economic growth and social development, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) of South Africa forges a partnership with the Water Resources Group (WRG), an influential public-private global network on water supported by the World Economic Forum and the International Finance Corporation. This new public-private group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will oversee the activities of a partnership called “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network” to address critical water issues in South Africa: water conservation, demand management and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources.
“This new partnership between the Government of South Africa and the Water Resources Group will help identify how South Africa’s plans for growth can be met with the water it has safely available. The foresight and leadership of Minister Molewa in this regard should be applauded” remarked Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group.
In South Africa, water demand is expected to rise by 52% within the next 30 years while the supply of water is sharply declining. If current trends of leakage from aged and poorly maintained municipal infrastructure and the loss of wetlands persist, this growth in demand will intensify competition for water resources across all sectors of the economy (agriculture, energy industry and domestic). Should status quo in management practices remain, a gap of 17% between water demand and supply is forecast by 2030. This gap will have serious social and political implications and strongly impact South Africa’s plans for economic growth.
“The Water Resources Group partnership will enable South Africa to access best practice economics, projects and policies in water management from public, private and civil society sectors around the world, enabling officials to field-test and replicate actions for implementation domestically,” explained Dominic Waughray, Senior Director, Head of Environmental Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and member of the Water Resources Group.
The group will focus on key areas:
Water conservation and demand management: increasing water use efficiency (in agriculture, industry and households) and reducing leakage from distribution networks (municipal and others, including irrigation)
Diversifying the water mix: increasing the reuse of effluent and desalination (sea water and acid mine drainage), and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources, in particular for rural areas
The partnership will deliver two primary outputs: first, it will assist the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in developing sector strategies (agriculture, energy, industry) related to the key areas. Each sector strategy will:
Identify a pipeline of potential projects and access its collective potential to close the water volume gap if implementation takes place
Identify challenges for project replication
Recommend a strategy to overcome challenges, including incentives for widespread adoption and contributions by each stakeholder to enable replication
Second, the partnership will provide expert support to help the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) consult with domestic stakeholders and design these pilot projects. Expertise provided from the WRG network will help NBF to:
Develop joint public-private expert collaborations to structure and take forward the pilot projects
Highlight the DWA-WRG partnership at COP 17 in Durban as a practical example of what South Africa is doing to manage its water security and adapt to climate change
Clear government ownership of the process is crucial to success and the inclusion of domestic public and private stakeholders. To this end, a public-private expert leadership group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will be formed to oversee the work. This new group will formally be called the “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network”. Stakeholders to be invited will include:
Department of Water Affairs (chairperson: the director-general)
Industry (key economic sectors such as food/beverage, mining and metals, energy)
Other governmental departments (national treasury, national planning commission, local government)
Development finance institutions (Development Bank of Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corporation, International Finance Corporation)
Business organizations (NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF), Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), National Business Initiative (NBI)
Civil society organizations (including WWF South Africa)
Multilateral and bilateral development agencies working in South Africa
A senior representative of WRG
Key partners of the WRG include The Coca-Cola Company, International Finance Corporation, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Veolia Environment. The Water Resources Group (WRG) is a public-private platform for collaboration. It mobilizes stakeholders from the public and private sector, civil society, centres of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector transformation in support of their economic growth plans. WRG engages with those governments who invite it to work on a comprehensive water sector reform strategy and then it provides a public-private approach to support them.
The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It cooperates closely with all leading international organizations (www.weforum.org).
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2014-08-09 12:25:162019-10-29 20:10:30Water Partnership for South Africa Launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa
The Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Green Development has established a cooperation memorandum with the 2030 Water Resources Group.
The document was inked on Tuesday at the end of a sub-meeting themed “Water resources of Mongolia is a developmental accelerator” within the World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Mongolia.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2013-09-18 10:32:322019-11-05 17:13:06Ministry to Cooperate with 2030 Water Resources Group
The Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN-SA) is in the process of identifying institutional and pricing models to incentivise collaboration between government and mining companies in ‘closing the water gap’ by increasing the treatment and reuse of mine water, reports Legalbrief Policy Watch.
This is according to Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, who made the announcement during an address to participants in a water session at the World Economic Forum’s 2013 Summit on Africa. According to the Minister, the work of the SWPN-SA was pivotal in developing the second draft of government’s national water resources strategy, published during July last year.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2013-05-10 10:19:592019-11-05 17:19:37Mines and government work on closing water gap
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 kicked off yesterday exploring the most pressing challenges that our world faces today. A strong green thread runs across Davos this year, where many discussions are focused on realizing growth in a sustainable manner. Given their importance to economic growth and social development aspirations of countries and societies around the world, water issues are among the most pressing we face and must tackle without delay. Today at Davos, the Water Resources Group (WRG) – a new global partnership on water – emerges as a new model of collaboration to manage water resources for long-term growth and sustainability.
True – many noteworthy partnerships already exist in the water sector. WRG aspires to complement and support such initiatives, drawing in new actors to come together in constructive dialogue and develop joint solutions to ensure that water enhances growth, not constrains it. The extensive WRG network of expertise contributes to developing a holistic approach, considering water issues alongside energy, food security and environmental issues for integrated solutions. But what is the value of a good idea if not tested in practice?
To date, WRG partners with five governments – Karnataka State of India, Jordan, Mexico, South Africa and Mongolia. Two short years of activity are already yielding results. Insight developed by WRG is being used to shape national water strategies (Mexico’s 2030 Water Agenda and the revision of Jordan’s national water strategy). WRG is also supporting the formation of new stakeholder collaborations (South Africa’s Strategic Water Partners Network and Jordan’s vision to create a National Water Council).
An emerging new model that has demonstrated initial success, the WRG has yet many new partnerships to form and lessons to learn. Driven by the spirit of innovation and continuous improvement at its core, reinforced by the support of multistakeholder champions globally, it is an important step towards securing access to water for human and economic development in water-scarce countries. More fundamentally, WRG can prove to be a truly new model for impact-orientated development.
Today, WRG moves to a new home at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), on behalf of the World Bank Group. Water expert Anders Berntell has been appointed Executive Director, to take WRG to its next stage and continued success.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2012-01-27 20:55:502019-10-27 22:40:39Water Resources Group: A new model for water sector transformation
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 7 June – Tsakhia Elbegdorj, President of Mongolia and Peter
Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group and Member of the World Economic Forum Foundation Board, committed to form a Mongolian Water Alliance of key government entities, civil society representatives and private sector participants to support the transformation of Mongolia’s water sector.
At the invitation of President Elbegdorj, the World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group
and Office of the President of Mongolia co-organized the Water Secure Future in Mongolia conference in Ikh Tenger, a special complex in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in which over 100 government officials, parliamentarians, civil society and private sector representatives participated to explore ways to safeguard Mongolia’s scarce water resources in the context of its rapid economic growth.
The conference debated pressing issues about water use in the mining, agricultural and municipal sectors, sharing case studies of international good practice for boosting water efficiency and ways of safeguarding Mongolia’s water supplies. Conference delegates agreed on the need to coordinate public and private information and activities in Mongolia’s water sector and, for immediate action, involved all stakeholders to deepen the country’s range of economic choices, to identify practical demand and supply options, and to develop a robust implementation plan.
In a follow-up meeting, President Elbegdorj and Brabeck-Letmathe committed to form a Mongolian Water Alliance of key government entities, civil society representatives and private sector participants with the Water Resources Group to support the transformation of Mongolia’s water sector.
President Elbegdorj said, “Managing our future water needs is key to sustaining Mongolia’s economic growth. We must ensure fast and effective implementation of our National Water Plan. We will benefit from the international networks and experience of the Water Resources Group to help us do so.”
Brabeck-Letmathe said, “The foresight and leadership of President Elbegdorj in recognizing the importance of water to Mongolia’s economic growth should be applauded. We are excited that Mongolia intends to join the ranks of countries such as Mexico, Jordan and South Africa that are also taking active leadership, with the support of the Water Resources Group, to find practical solutions that match sustainable water resource management with their plans for economic growth.”
The Mongolian economy is expected to grow by a factor of four in the next two decades, driven particularly by its abundant mineral wealth. Mongolian water experts at the conference noted that it takes about 4 m3 of water to move each 1 m3 of ore and that most of the mineral deposits are found in water scarce areas of the country.
About the Water Resources Group
The World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group (WRG) is an innovative public-private platform
for collaboration to mobilize stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, centers of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition-building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector.
https://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.png00Alida Phamhttps://www.2030wrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2030WRG_WBG_LOGO_RGB-new.pngAlida Pham2011-06-07 10:40:132019-11-05 17:36:14Mongolian President Declares Intent to Form New Alliance for Water Security
India Water Week: Agri-Water Efficiency and Urban Waste Water PPPs
Both events were held during the 2015 India Water Week from 13 to 17 January. Session outcomes and recommendations will be made available soon.
Photo: Har Ki Pairi, Hardwar in India. By Lord of the Wings.
Collective Action towards Water Enabled Growth in India
Panel members were Dr. S.K. Goel (Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra), Etienne Benet (Managing Director, Nestle India) and Arunabha Ghosh (CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water), representing government, private sector, civil society and development agencies respectively.
The round table discussions were framed by Dr. Amarjit Singh (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India) who called for private sector involvement in the government’s Ganga Rejuvenation initiative. A lively round table discussion then focussed on challenges and opportunities for multi-stakeholder involvement in the Ganga river basin. Consensus seems to build up that government, private sector and civil society need to hold hands to make the Ganga clean-up successful.”
South African Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane strengthens relations with business
South African Minister Mokonyane
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane yesterday met with the leadership team of the public – private sector led multi-stakeholder platform called the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN).
Minister Mokonyane emphasised that water management should be driven by national objectives such as job creation, eliminating inequality and reducing poverty. The Minister offered her full support to the SWPN, emphasising that the partnership has the value of being a two-way sounding board that both the DWS and the corporate sector should use to improve the country’s water management.
The SWPN was launched in late November 2011 by the former Minister with the help of the World Economic Forum and the 2030 Water Resources Group. Since then it has transformed itself from an engagement forum of a small leading group of pathfinders to a robust functional multi-stakeholder partnership that is inspiring other sectors, other countries and starting to achieve significant results on the ground.
In his presentation of SWPN projects, Andre Fourie, Co-Chair of the SWPN and Head of Environmental Value at SABMiller, said that the rallying point of this public-private-civil society partnership was to develop and to bring to scale projects that would close a 17% national gap between water supply and demand that is projected for the year 2030. Mr Fourie added that driven by this goal, the SWPN is a collaborative space where the public and private sector work together to develop solutions to address current water management challenges. He further acknowledged that the success of this partnership is owed to continued political leadership from the department.
Ravi Pillay of Nestle talked about the No Drop programme that was developed by the SWPN and is now being implemented by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The programme has developed a regulatory and partnership strategy, as well as tools to incentivise a reduction in water losses (leaks, meter problems and theft) in municipalities from the current 32% to 18% by 2025. This result will save the country over R2.5 billion in annual revenue that would otherwise have been lost from municipal water systems.
On the issue of water quality challenges related to mine impacted waters, Nandha Govender from Eskom spoke about how the SWPN is providing guidance on planning for mining and water management at wider scales beyond individual mine facilities.
In the area of agricultural water, Ian Hirschfeld of Coca-Cola said that the SWPN is developing a business case to enhance private sector investment in the rehabilitation of the Vaalharts irrigation scheme, the largest in South Africa. The project has the dual objective of improving productivity and water access to new farmers.
The work was appreciated by the new DWS Director-General (DG), Ms Margaret-Ann Diedricks. The DG also recommended that the partnership, in addition to municipal water reduction, looks at industrial water use efficiency as well. She then committed that the Department will assign relevant senior members to be involved to ensure continued success of this partnership.
Minister Mokonyane concluded that she saw great potential in the SWPN, saying that an open, long lasting and robust relationship between the private sector and the department including its entities is essential for addressing water security and national development goals. She provided some guidance to the SWPN leadership with regard to additional issues that include addressing sanitation, direct interaction with community groups, and the role of the private sector in financing infrastructure.
Financial support for the SWPN is provided by the following organisations: the 2030 Water Resources Group, Absa, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Coca-Cola, the Department of Water and Sanitation, Eskom, Exxaro, GIZ, Nestle, Sasol and South African Breweries. The NEPAD Business Foundation hosts the SWPN Secretariat.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
The SWPN Secretariat
Tel: +27 10 596 1888/1893
E-mail: swpn.secretariat@thenbf.co.za
Delivering access to safe water through partnerships
We are excited to have joined hands with PepsiCo in jointly launching the Report “Delivering access to safe water through partnerships”. It illustrates various ways partnerships leverage support to enable creative new strategies that achieve measurable and sustainable progress in the fight to alleviate water insecurity and provide access to safe water.
This includes water conservation, distribution, purification and hygiene for underserved communities in China, India, Mali, Brazil, Colombia and other Latin American countries.
See the report »
Water Partnership for South Africa Launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa
By Desirée Mohindra
Cape Town, South Africa – At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced today a Declaration of Partnership. Recognizing the critical role that water plays as a catalyst for both economic growth and social development, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) of South Africa forges a partnership with the Water Resources Group (WRG), an influential public-private global network on water supported by the World Economic Forum and the International Finance Corporation. This new public-private group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will oversee the activities of a partnership called “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network” to address critical water issues in South Africa: water conservation, demand management and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources.
“This new partnership between the Government of South Africa and the Water Resources Group will help identify how South Africa’s plans for growth can be met with the water it has safely available. The foresight and leadership of Minister Molewa in this regard should be applauded” remarked Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group.
In South Africa, water demand is expected to rise by 52% within the next 30 years while the supply of water is sharply declining. If current trends of leakage from aged and poorly maintained municipal infrastructure and the loss of wetlands persist, this growth in demand will intensify competition for water resources across all sectors of the economy (agriculture, energy industry and domestic). Should status quo in management practices remain, a gap of 17% between water demand and supply is forecast by 2030. This gap will have serious social and political implications and strongly impact South Africa’s plans for economic growth.
“The Water Resources Group partnership will enable South Africa to access best practice economics, projects and policies in water management from public, private and civil society sectors around the world, enabling officials to field-test and replicate actions for implementation domestically,” explained Dominic Waughray, Senior Director, Head of Environmental Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and member of the Water Resources Group.
The group will focus on key areas:
The partnership will deliver two primary outputs: first, it will assist the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in developing sector strategies (agriculture, energy, industry) related to the key areas. Each sector strategy will:
Second, the partnership will provide expert support to help the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) consult with domestic stakeholders and design these pilot projects. Expertise provided from the WRG network will help NBF to:
Clear government ownership of the process is crucial to success and the inclusion of domestic public and private stakeholders. To this end, a public-private expert leadership group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will be formed to oversee the work. This new group will formally be called the “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network”. Stakeholders to be invited will include:
Key partners of the WRG include The Coca-Cola Company, International Finance Corporation, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Veolia Environment. The Water Resources Group (WRG) is a public-private platform for collaboration. It mobilizes stakeholders from the public and private sector, civil society, centres of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector transformation in support of their economic growth plans. WRG engages with those governments who invite it to work on a comprehensive water sector reform strategy and then it provides a public-private approach to support them.
Notes to Editors
For more on Water Resources Group (WRG) go to http://www.weforum.org/issues/water
Read the Declaration of Partnership
View the best photos from the Forum on Flickr at http://wef.ch/pix
Download pictures from last year’s World Economic Forum on Africa athttp://wef.ch/wefa10photos
Follow this year’s Africa meeting online at http://wef.ch/Africa2011
Watch sessions live at http://wef.ch/live
Follow the Davos Debates on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/davos
Follow live tweets from sessions http://wef.ch/livetweet
Follow the Forum on Twitter at http://wef.ch/twitter
Read Forum reports on Scribd at http://wef.ch/scribd
Subscribe to Forum News Releases at http://wef.ch/news
Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook
The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It cooperates closely with all leading international organizations (www.weforum.org).
Ministry to Cooperate with 2030 Water Resources Group
by B.Khuder
The Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Green Development has established a cooperation memorandum with the 2030 Water Resources Group.
Read More »
Mines and government work on closing water gap
The Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN-SA) is in the process of identifying institutional and pricing models to incentivise collaboration between government and mining companies in ‘closing the water gap’ by increasing the treatment and reuse of mine water, reports Legalbrief Policy Watch.
This is according to Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, who made the announcement during an address to participants in a water session at the World Economic Forum’s 2013 Summit on Africa. According to the Minister, the work of the SWPN-SA was pivotal in developing the second draft of government’s national water resources strategy, published during July last year.
Water Resources Group: A new model for water sector transformation
By Ramya Krishnaswamy
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 kicked off yesterday exploring the most pressing challenges that our world faces today. A strong green thread runs across Davos this year, where many discussions are focused on realizing growth in a sustainable manner. Given their importance to economic growth and social development aspirations of countries and societies around the world, water issues are among the most pressing we face and must tackle without delay. Today at Davos, the Water Resources Group (WRG) – a new global partnership on water – emerges as a new model of collaboration to manage water resources for long-term growth and sustainability.
True – many noteworthy partnerships already exist in the water sector. WRG aspires to complement and support such initiatives, drawing in new actors to come together in constructive dialogue and develop joint solutions to ensure that water enhances growth, not constrains it. The extensive WRG network of expertise contributes to developing a holistic approach, considering water issues alongside energy, food security and environmental issues for integrated solutions. But what is the value of a good idea if not tested in practice?
To date, WRG partners with five governments – Karnataka State of India, Jordan, Mexico, South Africa and Mongolia. Two short years of activity are already yielding results. Insight developed by WRG is being used to shape national water strategies (Mexico’s 2030 Water Agenda and the revision of Jordan’s national water strategy). WRG is also supporting the formation of new stakeholder collaborations (South Africa’s Strategic Water Partners Network and Jordan’s vision to create a National Water Council).
An emerging new model that has demonstrated initial success, the WRG has yet many new partnerships to form and lessons to learn. Driven by the spirit of innovation and continuous improvement at its core, reinforced by the support of multistakeholder champions globally, it is an important step towards securing access to water for human and economic development in water-scarce countries. More fundamentally, WRG can prove to be a truly new model for impact-orientated development.
Today, WRG moves to a new home at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), on behalf of the World Bank Group. Water expert Anders Berntell has been appointed Executive Director, to take WRG to its next stage and continued success.
Mongolian President Declares Intent to Form New Alliance for Water Security
By Richard Elliott
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 7 June – Tsakhia Elbegdorj, President of Mongolia and Peter
Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group and Member of the World Economic Forum Foundation Board, committed to form a Mongolian Water Alliance of key government entities, civil society representatives and private sector participants to support the transformation of Mongolia’s water sector.
At the invitation of President Elbegdorj, the World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group
and Office of the President of Mongolia co-organized the Water Secure Future in Mongolia conference in Ikh Tenger, a special complex in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in which over 100 government officials, parliamentarians, civil society and private sector representatives participated to explore ways to safeguard Mongolia’s scarce water resources in the context of its rapid economic growth.
The conference debated pressing issues about water use in the mining, agricultural and municipal sectors, sharing case studies of international good practice for boosting water efficiency and ways of safeguarding Mongolia’s water supplies. Conference delegates agreed on the need to coordinate public and private information and activities in Mongolia’s water sector and, for immediate action, involved all stakeholders to deepen the country’s range of economic choices, to identify practical demand and supply options, and to develop a robust implementation plan.
In a follow-up meeting, President Elbegdorj and Brabeck-Letmathe committed to form a Mongolian Water Alliance of key government entities, civil society representatives and private sector participants with the Water Resources Group to support the transformation of Mongolia’s water sector.
President Elbegdorj said, “Managing our future water needs is key to sustaining Mongolia’s economic growth. We must ensure fast and effective implementation of our National Water Plan. We will benefit from the international networks and experience of the Water Resources Group to help us do so.”
Brabeck-Letmathe said, “The foresight and leadership of President Elbegdorj in recognizing the importance of water to Mongolia’s economic growth should be applauded. We are excited that Mongolia intends to join the ranks of countries such as Mexico, Jordan and South Africa that are also taking active leadership, with the support of the Water Resources Group, to find practical solutions that match sustainable water resource management with their plans for economic growth.”
The Mongolian economy is expected to grow by a factor of four in the next two decades, driven particularly by its abundant mineral wealth. Mongolian water experts at the conference noted that it takes about 4 m3 of water to move each 1 m3 of ore and that most of the mineral deposits are found in water scarce areas of the country.
About the Water Resources Group
The World Economic Forum-Water Resources Group (WRG) is an innovative public-private platform
for collaboration to mobilize stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, centers of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition-building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector.