New Water Policy and Practice Volume 1, Number 2 - Spring 2015 | Page 6
Understanding Six Water Leadership Roles
by 55%, driven by factors such as population growth, changing patterns in rainfall
and runoff, industrialisation, urbanisation and the use of water-intensive methods
of generating energy. This is predicted to place 40% of the global population under
severe water stress by 2050. The poorest people are likely to be most adversely affected.
Such water challenges have as much capacity to adversely impact the health
and prosperity of people living in urban areas as those in non-urban areas. They also
represent a significant threat to the health of ecosystems that are sensitive to changes
in hydrology and water quality. Put simply, “water resources, and the range of services
they provide, underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental
sustainability” (UN WWAP 2015, p. 2).
To illustrate the magnitude of global water challenges, consider the driver of
urbanisation. Urbanisation is expected to result in an additional 2.5 billion people
living in urban areas by 2050, an increase of 66% on current levels (UN DESA 2014).
Such growth will increase the pressure on urban water management systems that
are already struggling to service the needs of urban communities (see ADB and
APWF 2013; UN DESA 2014). In this context, the United Nations has concluded
that “managing urban areas has become one of the most important development
challenges of the twenty-first century. Our success or failure in building sustainable
cities will be a major factor in the success of the post-2015 UN development agenda”
(UN 2014, p1).
In the twenty-first century, water practitioners also need to address substantial
risks. For example, the World Economic Forum (2015) has rated “water crises” as the
most significant global risk in terms of “impact” and in the top eight risks in terms of
“likelihood.” The level of this risk has been increasing over the last decade.
Given this context, many water practitioners now recognize the need to be
change agen