Foreword
This report distils key messages from the Roundtable on Financing Water, a joint initiative of the OECD, the Government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank, and related analytical work on financing water. The report benefitted from the engagement of several hundred participants in Roundtable meetings organised over the past five years, including global, regional (the Americas, Asia, Europe) and thematic meetings (on agricultural water and on climate action). Through partnerships with member countries (Israel, the Netherlands and the United States), key regional players (Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank) and other key organisations (the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), the Roundtable’s meetings have allowed for a deeper exploration of the contextual factors that influence financing approaches in different regions and investment types. This provides the basis for an up-to-date summary of the key challenges and opportunities in the water financing landscape and sets out a vision for future OECD work on financing for water security and the Roundtable.
Kathleen Dominique led the work to develop this publication and has managed the Roundtable since 2017. The author team included: Kathleen Dominique, Helen Laubenstein, Stephanie Lyons and Harry Smythe. Xavier Leflaive, Simon Buckle and Walid Oueslati provided guidance. Data provided by the CDP survey of corporates disclosing water risks informed the analysis in Chapter 2. The report benefitted from valuable comments from Marta Arbinolo, Wiebke Bartz-Zuccala, Simon Buckle, Jane Ellis, Guillaume Gruère, Raphaël Jachnik, Xavier Leflaive, Mireille Martini, Michael Mullan and Mikaela Rambali of the OECD Secretariat, as well as from Mariem Khemiri, Project Officer, World Water Council. Sama Al Taher Cucci and Beth Del Bourgo provided excellent support on communications and Ines Reale provided invaluable administrative assistance.
The work was overseen by the OECD Working Party on Biodiversity, Water and Ecosystems and benefitted from valuable inputs and comments from delegates.
The OECD is grateful to the Government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council and the World Bank for their excellent co-operation in the context of the Roundtable on Financing Water, without which this report would not have been possible.