Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene December 2018 Vol.13 No.6

Publications case studies contribute to a growing body of information on the outcomes of water safety planning and may be useful in building support for WSPs among water sector senior managers, operational staff and other stakeholders. Water Scarce Cities: Thriving in a Finite World Water scarce cities face unprecedented challenges: rapid urbanization and growth have put pressure on dwindling resources, and cities are further stressed by climate change and conflict shocks. Most operate under unsustainable water management practices, based on linear, engineering-based approaches, yet government planners and others are unaware how this situation could lead to major water shortages. This report, using information from the Water Scarce Cities Initiative, attempts to compile innovative approaches—based on cities’ successful responses to water scarcity—to inspire a new kind of urban water security. The Water Scarce Cities report intends to magnify the successes of those urban areas and to stimulate knowledge exchange between global cities, their policy makers and, most important, the practitioners. It first seeks to shift predominant, outdated, mostly linear, and siloed thought patterns that sometimes lead to disjointed and costly investment decisions without necessarily providing protection against depleting resources or an increasingly adversarial climate. It then demystifies innovative urban water practices, including managing conventional resources such as aquifers more effectively, tapping new and nonconventional resources such as wastewater, con-trolling demand, or engaging differently (such as showing how the practices were done and what can be learned from them). The goal is to engage meaningfully with diverse water scarce cities to facilitate concrete engagement, product development, and technical assistance. Citation “World Bank. 2018. Water Scarce Cities : Thriving in a Finite World. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ handle/10986/29623 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.” Water Utility Turnaround Framework: A Guide for Improving Performance In many urban areas around the world, public utilities provide water supply and sanitation (WSS) services. While some of these urban public water and sanitation utilities ("water utilities") perform well, others suffer from the types of performance issues observed in many public sector entities, such as low operating and investment efficiency. A framework for turning around poorly performing water utilities will benefit the management of these utilities, governments with responsibilities for water utilities, and those providing technical and financial support for improving the WSS sector. Improving the performance of water utilities is difficult because the problems they face are complex and multidimensional. Problems caused by dysfunctional political environments, combined with an entrenched backlog of inefficient practices, cannot be solved by applying standard technical and managerial techniques. Achieving a sustained turnaround requires a framework that integrates practical steps to increase a utility's operational and managerial efficiency with measures to reverse the dysfunctional political equilibria in which it operates. Using a comprehensive turnaround framework is the best approach to improve water utilities' performance and efficiency, and increase their ability to access finance, including commercial finance. Why does this matter? Evidence shows that water utilities with access to commercial finance are much more likely to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Citation “Soppe, Gerhard; Janson, Nils; Piantini, Scarlett. 2018. Water Utility Turnaround Framework : A Guide for Improving Performance. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ handle/10986/30863 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.” UN Environment’s Freshwater Strategy 2017-2021 UN Environment’s new Freshwater Strategy 2017 - 2021 is designed to bring together the organization’s work that touches upon freshwater and provide a catalyst for action with various partners and stakeholders, at different levels of engagement. The Strategy describes where UN Environment will take global leadership, contribute to topics of immediate and pressing concern, and actively follow processes closely related to freshwater. Coming at a crucial time for kickstarting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN Environment will focus its Strategy on those that relate to freshwater ecosystems, water quality and pollution, integrated water resources management (IWRM), and water-related conflict and disasters. Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • December 2018 29

Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene December 2018 Vol.13 No.6 | Page 29