March 2013: The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Technical Committee (TEC) published a paper, titled “The Economic Value of Moving Toward a More Water Secure World,” which examines the economic value of increased water security, and highlights the different views and values individual households and States place on water security.

The authors emphasize three points about how States value water security. When making decisions about water infrastructure and development, States consider the value of water within broader military, political, public health or natural resource threats in addition to economic and growth concerns. Second, States must balance agriculture, ecosystem, energy and municipal water demands, and must choose between unilateral development and cooperation when managing transboundary waters. Third, States need specific information on water resources, options and trade-offs.

The authors state households value water security to minimize risks related to food security, health and livelihoods, as well as to ensure financial, national and social security. They also highlight a low willingness to pay for water-related disease and disaster protection among households. They suggest some households believe States should provide water and sanitation services, and describe how others view drought or flood protection as beyond their control.

The authors conclude that households have a short-term, user value for water and States possess a longer-term, system value. They also highlight differences between households and States on cooperative behavior, economic value of disasters, investment planning and knowledge bases about water resources. They recommend, inter alia: cost-benefit analysis on water policy interventions; analytical work on the behavior of hydrological systems; system value approaches; and modeling and scenario analysis.

The paper includes an introduction; chapters on State and household perspectives on the value of water security; and a conclusion. The authors argue that aggregate, global estimates on water security will not help guide investment decisions on local, national or regional water resources; consequently, they do not include empirical estimates on the economic value of water.

The paper, which was published by the GWP Global Secretariat in Stockholm, is part of a TEC background paper series on integrated water resources management (IWRM). The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) founded the GWP in 1996 to promote IWRM. [Publication: The Economic Value of Moving Toward a More Water Secure World]