Faced with mounting shortages of water, a worsening trend in water pollution and growing damages from climate change, the international community must find additional ways to support countries in managing their water resources. The challenge, according to the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group, is to meet today's water needs while putting in place innovative strategies to address water stress -- manifested in shortages projected in the order of 40 percent by 2030 according to some calculations. This report examines the World Bank’s support for water-related activities and draws implications for what ought to be done. MORE >
Effective demand management is one of several critical challenges worldwide in the face of increasing water scarcity.
Integrated water resources management, the focus of two consecutive water strategies, has gained traction within the Bank but has made limited progress in most client countries.
Where IWRM has been successful, it is most often in a particular location at a time of necessity.
The number of projects dealing with groundwater issues has been declining, although within that problematic trend the portfolio has also witnessed a positive shift away from a focus on extraction.
Watershed management projects that take a livelihood-focused approach perform better than those that do not.
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Environmental restoration has been underemphasized in the Bank’s water portfolio, possibly because its immediate and long-term financial importance is unclear.
Most Bank water projects focus on infrastructure, even though in some cases environmental restoration is more strategically important.
Countries and donors will need to focus more on coastal management, because some 75 percent of the world’s population will soon be living near the coast, putting them at heightened risk from the consequences of climate change.
Many projects contain funding for water quality management, but few countries measure water quality.
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The Bank has increasingly focused on water service delivery, but there has been a declining emphasis on monitoring economic returns, water quality, and health outcomes.
Sanitation needs greater attention.
Hydropower projects have performed well, and significant untapped potential remains for appropriate development, particularly in Africa.
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Water services are delivered by public providers in most countries, although private sector participation has made some progress.
Water projects operating in a decentralized environment have had difficulty meeting expectations, but when the budget and authority accorded to the lower level of government have matched the responsibility assigned to it, projects have had positive achievements.
Support for institutional reform and capacity building has had limited success in the water sector.
The Bank has been actively engaged in addressing transboundary water issues.
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The Bank’s complementary strategies for the water sector have been broadly appropriate.
Water stress needs to be confronted systematically.
Collaboration with other partners is particularly important, and it is likely to increase in importance as the Bank helps countries tackle water crises.
Successful implementation of the Bank’s Water Resources Sector Strategy will require a great deal of data on water resources, and therefore data gathering must become a higher priority.
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