Governance
As defined by the UNDP Water Governance Facility, water governance is determined by the political, social, economic, and administrative systems that are in place. These systems can both directly and indirectly affect the use, development, and management of water resources and the delivery of water services delivery at different levels of society. Improving governance for economic, environmental, and social sustainability is possible through the establishment of stronger public and private institutions, policies, legislation, and processes. Topics addressed in this theme include the principles of equity and efficiency, water administration, the roles of government and other stakeholders, and the frameworks to balance water use between socio-economic activities and ecosystems.
Governance Resources
Mekong River: Emerging Geopolitics and Challenges to Environment
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June 25, 2021Mekong river is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Mekong originates in Tibetan Plateau and flows downstream through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is considered to be one of the most fertile rivers in the world and has resulted in these countries...Read more
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LaosChinaThe Financial Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on U.S. Drinking Water Utilities
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June 25, 2021This report from April 2020 outlines the financial impacts of Covid-19 on water utilities in the United States. The pandemic was predicted to cost water companies nearly $14 billion during the early stages of lockdowns due to low customer growth, decreases in non-residential water needs and...Read more
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United StatesIndigenous Water Justice
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July 9, 2021Indigenous Peoples are struggling for water justice across the globe. These struggles stem from centuries-long colonial legacies and hold profound significance for Indigenous Peoples’ socioeconomic development, cultural identity, political autonomy and external relations within nation-states...Read more
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GlobalApplying a Cumulative Risk Framework to Drinking Water Assessment: A Commentary
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July 13, 2021The health risks of drinking water contaminants and the economic benefits of drinking water standards are typically assessed one chemical at a time, an approach that misses the health impacts of co-occurring contaminants in drinking water. In contrast, a cumulative risk framework has become common...Read more
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United StatesCity Residents, Scientists and Policy-Makers: Power in Co-Producing Knowledge
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July 13, 2021The need to merge scientific with societal knowledge in addressing global sustainability challenges has deepened research on a methodology known as co-producing knowledge. This paper draws on case study projects in Africa to discern the forms of power that are navigated by actors when co-producing...Read more
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UgandaLower Kafue River Basin 2019 Report Card
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July 16, 2021Similar to school report cards, river basin report cards provide performance-driven numeric grades or letters that reflect the status of a river basin on a regular basis. They effectively integrate and synthesize large, and often complex, information into simple scores that can be communicated to...Read more
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ZambiaToward Water Security for All: 2018 Highlights of The Coca-Cola Company and WWF Partnership
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July 16, 2021For more than a decade, WWF and The Coca-Cola Company have worked together to preserve and enhance global freshwater resources and create a more water-secure future. Along the way we have learned valuable lessons about how to implement and scale our freshwater basin conservation impacts. This...Read more
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GlobalA Transformative Partnership to Conserve Water: The Coca-Cola Company and WWF 2016 Annual Report
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July 16, 2021WWF and The Coca-Cola Company have worked together for a decade to help conserve the world's freshwater resources and reduce Coca-Cola's environmental footprint. Learn more about the progress we've made in 2016 to help ensure healthy, resilient freshwater basins in our focal areas (...Read more
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GlobalBelize Reef Scorecard
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July 16, 2021The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, second in size globally only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (BBRRS) was the first marine World Heritage site in the Caribbean region when inscribed on the World Heritage...Read more
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BelizeWater, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy
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July 16, 2021Water scarcity has created a context of human and societal need wherein water stress has undermined the vitality of rural livelihoods, driven broad migratory movements, become a weapon of war, contributed to the growth of insurgencies and terrorist networks and given rise to increased demand for U...Read more
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