TAKING A RUBIK’S CUBE APPROACH TO ACHIEVE WATER SECURITY

When attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube most people pick a colour and complete one face of the cube before moving on to the next. While this approach is fun, it is ultimately doomed to fail, because addressing the needs of one side of the cube causes the remaining five to be thrown into chaos. The same goes for solving the challenges of water security.

In what’s becoming an increasingly common story, many countries today are at risk of running out of water, with water availability now cited the greatest risk to business continuity and growth according to the Global Risks Report 2020. The report also lists extreme weather events, “failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation,” and natural disasters as the top three risks in terms of likelihood and all are connected to water.

Water is at the heart of sustainable development and is critical for livelihood, socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems and for human dignity. Water is also at the core of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between the climate system, livelihood and the environment.

Despite major efforts, the world has failed to turn this transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda into real transformational policies. Ten years are left for the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, UN-Water reports show the world is off track to achieve the water goal – the heart of the SDGs-, thus the same goes for all water related SDGs So tenuous is the situation, that climate change mitigation and adaptation fall far short of being achievable.

Business as usual trajectory is not an option and would have severe implications for water and food security, socio-economic development, public health as well as peace and political stability

Why does water security matter and what is the role of the private sector?

Today’s water sector in many countries faces the fundamental challenge of trying to do more with less – not an easy endeavour - due to increasing demands, massive influx of refugees, chronic water scarcity, intermittency of water supply, high levels of non-revenue water, lack of access to safely managed water and sanitation services, climate extremes such as droughts and floods, ageing infrastructure, lack of information systems, weak institutions and strained human and financial resources. Moreover, water security is more complex under great change pressures (population growth and climate change) under fragile contexts which intensify water resources vulnerability and weaken the social contract between institutions and local communities as a destabilizing force and risk multiplier.

Water security should be defined as “The dynamic capacity of the water system and water stakeholders to safeguard sustainable and equitable access to adequate quantities and acceptable quality of water that is continuously, physically, and legally available at an affordable cost for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.” Aboelnga, et.al

Water utilities are typically unable to meet development finance demands solely through mobilising domestic resources and have to attract new sources of financing. Despite the crucial role of private sector to bridge the financial gap and increase the utility performance, the water sector is still not attractive for many stakeholders.

Private sector is able to deal with many risks, such as controlling the billing system properly, managing operating costs, and expanding the water and sanitation infrastructure. However, they are cautious about accepting major risks beyond their control, such as droughts or rapid exchange rate changes, and if asked to bear these risks will price their services accordingly. Private sector also want to know that the regime in the country will respect the rules of the game, and not create risk by changing regulations or policies in midstream.

The DECS framework for achieving urban water security in challenging world.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the water challenges of today, but there are many issues need to be considered together. Solving the challenges of water security is like solving a Rubik's cube. The Rubik's cube starts to usually find structure and the different pieces find their places when its solver adopts a systematic approach. Still, solving the whole cube takes time and perseverance. 

Framing the challenges of water security goes beyond single-issue indicators such as water stress, water quality, or access to water sanitation and includes holistic thinking about community’s demands and expectations. There is growing recognition of the role that fragility and conflict can play in aggravating water insecurity; infrastructure may be seriously deteriorated, and institutions may be weakened to the point where service providers are unable to provide basic water services and incapable of managing water related hazards, resulting in riots, migration, and loss of livelihood’s life.

Source: Abeolnga, et.al

The assessment framework depends on four main dimensions to achieve urban water security: Drinking water and human beings, ecosystem, climate change and water-related hazards, and socio-economic factors (DECS). The framework further enables the analysis of relationships and trade-off between urbanization and water security, as well as between DECS indicators. Applying this framework will help governments, policymakers, and water stakeholders to target scant resources more effectively and sustainably. The study reveals that achieving urban water security requires a holistic and integrated approach with collaborative stakeholders to provide a meaningful way to improve understanding and managing urban water security.

To achieve urban water security and sustainable water management, we need collective actions to implement the integrated framework of DECS and more is needed to enhance the role of the private sector and civil society. Actions by governments and the international community are only part of the solution to solve the most serious water challenges. Under an effective policy and regulatory framework, the private sector could play a greater role in supplying cost effective and quality water service, as well as in harnessing and developing new technologies that enhance water security. Civil society, academia, and the media also have important contributions to make. Much greater public information is needed to educate people about the availability of water resources and the costs and consequences of water use and practices.