Global Water Partnership (GWP) has published a discussion paper, Engaging the Private Sector in Water Security, which aims to recognize the importance of including the private sector in any multi-stakeholder initiative.
The focus of the paper is the intersection between Synergizing Corporate Water Stewardship (CWS) and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). GWP asserts that both are “grounded in mitigating water risk to achieve water security.”
Howard Bamsey, executive director of the Green Climate Fund said at the Stockholm World Water Week in 2017, “The private sector will simply not invest until the water governance is right, from policy development to law and regulation, down to local governance arrangements.”
GWP states other motivating factors for the alignment of CWS and IWRM to be achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal six on clean water and sanitation. As well, expanding the scope and scale of local watershed initiatives to drive broader impacts.
“As corporate water strategies mature from minimizing impact within companies’ direct operations to contributing to the sustainability of watersheds where they operate, GWP’s network can provide a neutral and safe space for engaging diverse water-using sectors and constituencies,” said Monika Weber-Fahr, GWP’s executive secretary. “By bringing these voices to the table, GWP facilitates a more integrated view of water policy and governance issues, which gives a clearer line of sight to solutions and progress made (or not made) towards water security.”
Collaboration, adding value to projects, and furthering the water security agenda undergird GWP’s work. The organization has found success through:
- A 10-year partnership with Coca-Cola developing non-conventional water management projects to combat water scarcity in the driest parts of the Mediterranean
- Rainwater harvesting installation, maintenance, and capacity building in rural, water-scarce communities in Central America and the Caribbean, together with Mexichem and IDB
- Multi-stakeholder dialogues in the Middle East to unlock private sector investment in water-related infrastructure under the Union for the Mediterranean’s Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector project
Learn more about the work of GWP by visiting the organization’s website.
