Water Accounting For Water Governance And Sustainable Development

There is growing interest in water accounting, why it is needed, what benefits it brings, and equally important, how it can be put into practice. Water accounting is not a new idea, yet it is an alarmingly simple one. It is about quantifying water resources and uses of water, much like financial accounts provide information on income and expenditure. Interest in water accounting is based on the premise that ‘We cannot plan and manage what we do not measure’ – a statement that few would disagree with. However, given the current focus on water as a precious and limiting resource, the risks of extreme floods and droughts, and water’s central role in the 2030 Agenda, it is difficult to understand why so little attention is given to water accounting and to making sure we have enough water. Indeed, estimates suggest that by 2050, if we continue with our current approach to water management, global water demand will exceed supply by over 40%, which would put at risk 45% of global GDP, 52% of the world’s population, and 40% of grain production (WWDR, 2016). This concern is supported by the World Economic Forum that consistently ranks water crises as a top global risk (WEF, 2015). Reports from South Africa (January 2018) suggesting that Cape Town may be the world’s first major city to face the prospect of running out of water following severe drought, is a timely ‘wake-up call’ for everyone to focus on accounting for water.