Sustainable water infrastructure and ecosystems
Engineered water infrastructure, such as dams, irrigation systems and pipelines, is foundational to socioeconomic progress and poverty alleviation. However, the world faces an annual water infrastructure investment shortfall of approximately $135 billion, despite the need for a global investment of $10 trillion by 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Increasing investment alone is not sufficient. Past infrastructure projects have often neglected environmental impacts and the needs of poor and marginalized communities, leading to degradation of freshwater ecosystems, biodiversity loss and deepened socioeconomic inequalities. To meet the growing demands for food, water and energy, a more balanced approach is essential — one that blends the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure with the development of new systems.
Future infrastructure must be resilient to climate change, efficient and cost-effective, while safeguarding ecosystems. Additionally, the role of natural infrastructure — such as wetlands, forests and watersheds — needs to be better understood and integrated alongside built infrastructure.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) recognizes the continuum between green (natural) and grey (built) infrastructure and aims to design integrated solutions that enhance synergies, reduce trade-offs and promote sustainable, inclusive growth. Its work addresses challenges at global, landscape and individual infrastructure project levels, promoting a more equitable and holistic approach to water management. IWMI’s research and programs focus on:
- Optimizing the management of integrated (natural and built) water storage systems across multiple sectors and scales, through mapping and evaluating temporal dynamics of different storage options, estimating the water storage gap and analyzing the political economy of policies and institutions influencing water storage.
- Examining and understanding the ecological health of river systems, the importance of maintaining natural flow regimes (e-flows) and developing strategies to restore and preserve rivers’ capacity to support biodiversity and ecosystem services, including through the development of biophysical indicators and score cards and the establishment of a database of e-flow estimates.
- Understanding the complex relationships between wetland ecosystems and their surrounding environments, assessing the impacts of wetland degradation on essential ecosystem services and developing strategies to incorporate wetland conservation into sustainable water management and land-use planning.
- Harnessing nature-based solutions to address complex contemporary challenges: water management, climate change and disaster risk reduction.
- Identifying and promoting innovative financial mechanisms to support the development, maintenance and integration of both built and natural infrastructure.
