Water governance: Trends and new pathways for the hydrological transition. Key takeaways from the UCT-UCR seminar
By Senani Mamba | WPE
Welcome to a new month of the UCT-UCR Seminar Series! For this edition on "Water Economics and Politics," we were joined by Dr Oriano Romano, Head of Unit: Water Governance and Circular Economy, Urban Policies, and Sustainable Development Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE).
The discussion began with a review of changes in the global landscape affecting water management, showing that global stability decreased from 17.9% in 2023 to 17.6% in 2026; however, this stability masks the intensifying pressure on water management systems.
Key takeaways:
- The challenges in global water resource management are that there are drivers increasing pressures on water systems, including drivers that are 80% of climate change consequences manifest through water. The world population in 2050 is expected to be 9,9 billion, signalling high demand pressures, and 55% of the world population is projected to be in urban areas. Risks resulting from this could be that an estimated 240 million people will be without water and 1,4 billion people without access to basic sanitation.
- "Water governance is about managing complexity." from this point, an argument was made that there is enough water for human needs if it is managed wisely; water risks, requires more than financing & hydrology technical, financial & institutional solutions exist, but implementation is lagging with not only addressing the question of what has to be done to meet the water challenge, there is a need to think about who does what, why, at which level and how.
- A systems approach to managing water security was presented where water was illustrated as a cross-cutting issue and at the intersection of the circular, blue and nature economy, where urban development, energy and agriculture components poured into these.
To conclude the session, Dr Romano highlighted the need to move from crisis management to risk management and to align governance and finance. An emphasis on risk-based governance was made, with a good governance structure combining data, thresholds, place-based differentiation, and pre-arranged financing, not just emergency response. In governance and finance, an emphasis on how the private and public capital need the same enabling conditions: credible pipelines, predictable rules, transparent data and institutions that can execute.
This presentation is part of the UCT-UCR Seminar Series: Water Economics and Politics, a joint initiative between the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of California, Riverside (UCR). About this presentation: Water governance: Trends and new pathways for the hydrological transition.