Water Papers

180 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16997

Water Papers are produced by the Water Global Practice, taking up the work of the predecessor Water Unit, Transport, Water and ICT Department, Sustainable Development Vice Presidency.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 22

Clear Waters and Lush Mountains: The Value of Water in the Construction of China’s Ecological Civilization - A Synthesis Report

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022) World Bank ; Development Research Center

This report aims to identify opportunities for improving water policy through the identification, evaluation, and realization of water’s diverse and multiple values in China. The report recognizes China’s significant achievements in water management and identifies remaining and emerging challenges. It presents conceptual and practical approaches to eliciting a wide range of economic, social, cultural, and environmental values of water. Drawing on examples from China and internationally, the report puts forward recommendations for protecting and realizing these values in the context of China’s construction of an ecological civilization. The report is directed toward both Chinese policy makers, and international readers interested in understanding water policy and the way that measurement of values can inform water policy. The challenges assessed in this report suggest that a new generation of smarter water policies will be needed in priority areas. This report is a synthesis of research carried out by the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council under the research collaboration, “Evaluating and Realizing the Value of Water in the Construction of an Ecological Civilization for China.” It draws on background papers, inputs, and consultations with a range of experts within the World Bank, officials from the government of the People’s Republic of China, along with universities and nongovernmental organizations working on water-resources-related research in China.
Water in Circular Economy and Resilience: The Case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05-23) World Bank

This case study is part of a series prepared by the World Bank’s Water Global Practice to highlight existing experiences in the water sector. The purpose of the series is to showcase one or more Two of the main pillars of a circular economy are resource efficiency and zero (or minimum) waste. By significantly reducing water losses and improving operational efficiency, the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) is embracing circular economy principles toward a more sustainable future.of the elements that can contribute toward a Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) system. This case focuses on the experience of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Water in Circular Economy and Resilience: The Case of Lingyuan City, China

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-03-18) World Bank

Lingyuan City in Liaoning Province, China, is a county level city with a population of around six hundred fifty thousand people who have been facing acute water scarcity. The Daling River, which flows through the city, runs dry for about seven months a year on average. The limited availability of surface water, combined with pollution of the Daling River, has led to the overexploitation of groundwater resources. This case study is part of a series prepared by the World Bank’s Water Global Practice to highlight existing experiences in the water sector. The purpose of the series is to showcase one or more of the elements that can contribute toward a Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) system. This case study focuses on the experiences of Lingyuan City in China.
Water in Circular Economy and Resilience: The Cases of Tugu Tirta and Adhya Tirta Batam, Indonesia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-03-18) World Bank

There are close to four hundred water utilities in Indonesia with varied performance and capacity but only around half are considered well performing. Inefficient operations has been identified as one of the key issues hampering performance and reducing utilities’ capacity to provide reliable water supply services. If not addressed, water utilities’ inefficiency could hamper government efforts to achieve development targets. High rates of nonrevenue water (NRW) pose a major challenge to the operational efficiency of many of Indonesia’s water utilities. This case study is part of a series prepared by the World Bank’s Water Global Practice to highlight existing experiences in the water sector. The purpose of the series is to showcase one or more of the elements that can contribute toward a Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) system. This case focuses on interventions on the utility’s supply side to increase efficiency and minimize waste.
The Nitrogen Legacy: The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-10) Zaveri, Esha ; Russ, Jason ; Desbureaux, Sebastien ; Damania, Richard ; Rodella, Aude-Sophie ; Ribeiro, Giovanna

The fallout of nitrogen pollution is considered one of the largest global externalities facing the world, impacting air, water soil and human health. This paper presents new evidence that nitrogen pollution in water is an important determinant of variations in human capital. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey dataset across India, Vietnam, and 33 African countries are combined to analyze the causal links between pollution exposure experienced during the very earliest stages of life and later-life health. Results show that pollution exposure experienced in the critical years of development from the period of birth up until year three – is associated with decreased height as an adult, a well-known indicator of overall health and productivity, and is robust to several statistical checks. Because adult height is related to education, labor productivity, and income, this also implies a loss of earning potential. Results are consistent and show that early-life exposure to nitrogen pollution in water can lower height-for-age scores during childhood in Vietnam and during infancy in Africa. These findings add to the evidence on the enduring consequences of water pollution and identify a critical area for policy intervention.
Watershed: A New Era of Water Governance in China - Thematic Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-01) World Bank

Each of the chapters presented in this report is based on a series of 15 thematic reports. They provided the basis for the joint identification of key priority reforms by the World Bank and China that were bought together and published in an accompanying Synthesis Report. Topics included: (1) overview of water governance in China; (2) evaluation of China’s water security status and issues; (3) advancing water quality markets in China; (4) macro-economic impacts of water scarcity and redlines in China; (5) re-examining the Three Red Lines Policy; (6) water rights verifications and transactions; (7) best practices in cost-benefit analysis for water investments; (8) water prices, taxes, and fees; (9) flood risk management and protection; (10) ecology compensation and governance; (11) legal reform for water governance; (12) China’s water management administrative system and its reform; (13) technical innovation and development of an information platform in China; (14) Public Private Partnerships and water governance in China; (15) summary and overall design of China’s water governance system. These discussions emphasized key issues for water governance in China, including the need for a stronger legislative foundation for water governance; enhanced basin-scale governance institutions; harmonization of existing policy tools, such as water permits and water rights; better information and data-sharing; and the need to promote ecosystem resilience. Based on these consultations and discussions, a final set of 15 key recommendations have been put forward. These recommendations form the core of the accompanying Synthesis Report. Each priority area is the subject of a separate chapter focusing on the rationale for each of the policy recommendations, drawing on research completed by each study team.
Water and Sanitation Services for Informal Settlements in Honiara, Solomon Islands

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10) World Bank

The objective of this study was to inform Solomon Water of potential service delivery models for the expansion of water and sanitation services in informal settlements in Honiara. Currently, a range of water service delivery models are in use by residents of settlements. As described below, many of do not result in safe and affordable drinking and domestic water. Similarly, a range of sanitation practices are in use, most are not likely to result in safe containment of human waste. Solomon Water is currently expanding and improving its water and sanitation services in Honiara, and other regional towns urban center's. As a part of this improvement and expansion agenda, there is the opportunity to improve the water and sanitation services used by residents of informal settlements. In recognition of the diversity of environmental, social and economic diversity amongst urban residents in Honiara’s informal settlements, a range of water and sanitation service delivery models may need to be offered. This assessment identifies the range of possible water and sanitation service models, and, with input from Solomon Water, informal settlement residents and other stakeholders, together with analytical information and lessons about service delivery models used elsewhere, makes recommendations about the water and sanitation service options best suited to informal Honiara’s settlements.
Building Urban Water Resilience in Small Island Countries: The Case of South Tarawa, Kiribati

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10) World Bank

The water sector in South Tarawa, the capital city of Kiribati, is entering a time of deep transition. In a small island context risks can materialize faster than elsewhere and have disproportionate consequences. Strengthening water sector resilience is therefore critical to people’s welfare and to the economy. This report was conducted in parallel to the preparation of the South Tarawa Water Supply Project, to provide a diagnostic of the remaining vulnerabilities the capital city’s water supply sector may face after the completion of this project. Its main objective is to inform decisions by the Government of Kiribati on how to address these vulnerabilities. Section one gives introduction. Section two sets the stage with a brief presentation of the concept of water supply resilience in a context of water scarcity. Section three provides a summary of water supply conditions in South Tarawa and analyzes the impacts of various stresses and shocks on freshwater availability. Section four discusses potential measures to reduce water supply deficits during major crises. Section five offers an overview of these measures, in the form of an action plan, and presents several lessons that can be applied in water scarce cities in small islands and elsewhere.
Water and Nutrition: A Framework for Action

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08) Chase, Claire ; Bahuguna, Aroha ; Chen, Yue ; Haque, Sabrina ; Schulte, Mik

This framework for action was developed to support the inclusion of nutritional considerations in the design of water operations and to help formulate nutrition-enhancing water policy. Chronic undernutrition early in life can cause cognitive and physical impairments that prevent children from achieving their full potential and have lasting consequences on the human capital that is essential for economies of the future to be competitive. The authors present an integrated water and nutrition framework to aid in understanding the various ways that water impacts early child nutrition, drawing on the three dimensions of water security: water quantity, adequate supply of water resources; water quality, water that is free of contamination; and water accessibility, reliable availability to all people, economies, and ecosystems. Each of these in turn affects the underlying drivers of poor nutrition outcomes in children. Challenges associated with water-related conflict and water resources in the context of fragility cuts across each of the drivers of undernutrition. The framework complements guidance notes that describe the evidence of how water sector investments across irrigation, water management, and water supply and sanitation impact early child nutrition and summarize recommendations on how to design interventions for greater impact.
Better Data, Better Results: Remote Sensing as a Tool for Monitoring Water Quality in Lake Toba, Indonesia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06-01) World Bank

Lake Toba is a unique natural asset of global significance with a rich cultural heritage located in the North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. Located 904 meters above sea level and with a maximum depth of more than 500 meters, this 87-kilometer-long lake provides a wide range of economic and environmental goods and services for more than half a million people and 400 villages in the seven districts covered by the lake's 3,658 square kilometer catchment. However, sustaining the long-term economic and environmental value of Lake Toba depends on addressing the deterioration of water quality. This technical guidance note reports on the potential benefits of using remote sensing as part of an integrated strategy to improve the monitoring and management of water quality in Lake Toba.