IIPP delegation calls for bold action on water at global biodiversity conference

• After COP 16, with 158 countries yet to submit formal plans to meet the 30% conservation targets by 2030, failure to act threatens to further destabilise the global hydrological cycle and local access to freshwater. Inaction on biodiversity protection could lead to significant GDP losses due to disrupted water cycles, the final report of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water  (co-chaired by Professor Mazzucato) argues.
• Professor Mazzucato calls on government to take three urgent steps.
  • First, governments must submit formal plans on how they will meet GBF targets. 
  • Second, green water must be recognised in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), to inform priorities and financing streams.
  • Third, countries must make concrete efforts to recognise the rights of Indigenous Peoples, who are stewards of one quarter of the planet’s land, accounting for about 40% of the remaining natural lands worldwide. 

The global water crisis is at risk of intensifying if governments do not urgently make progress on protecting the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems, argues the final report of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW). Wetlands and forests, which are vital carbon stores, rely on stable water cycles and thriving biodiversity to function effectively. Terrestrial ecosystems currently absorb 25% of carbon emissions.

Professor Mariana Mazzucato, IIPP Director and Co-Chair of the GCEW, travelled to Cali, Colombia to elevate water on the agenda at COP 16, the UN’s global biodiversity conference. “The costs of inaction are massive. Changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, reduced water storage, and declining access to clean water threaten significant GDP losses,” said Prof Mazzucato. “High-income countries face an average GDP reduction of 8% by 2050, while lower-income nations could experience drops of up to 15%.”

During a meeting with President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, Prof Mazzucato shared the recommendations of the GCEW’s final report, including to adopt mission-oriented approach to tackle the country’s water crisis, recommending that governments focus one of their missions on conserving and restoring natural habitats critical to protect green water. The Colombian government has put water at the centre of its National Development Plan, with the first of the five objectives being the “Territorial organisation around water.”

Prof Mazzucato launched the commission’s final report “The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good” at the Great Casa Británica alongside Musonda Mumba (Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands) and Martha Rojas Urrego (GCEW Commissioner and Director General of the International Whaling Commission).

Resources

• “The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good” – final report of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water
• “The Water-Security Crisis” – oped in Project Syndicate by Mariana Mazzucato, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Johan Rockstrom, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam
• “Unblocking Climate & Biodiversity Finance : Global Public Investment for Global Missions” – IIPP and GPI policy report by Mariana Mazzucato, Jonathan Glennie, Daniel Ortega-Pacheco, and Patricia Alemañy
• “A just transition for the Amazon: a mission-oriented framework” – IIPP working paper by Mariana Mazzucato and Joao Pedro Braga
• “Global water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years” – article by Fiona Harvey
• “Water Crises Threaten the Word’s Ability to Eat, Studies Show” – article by Somini Sengupta