Sharing smart solutions in water

This report concerns the major impact of the Water Partnership Program (WPP) phase one (2009-2012) in each of the World Bank's six regions, as well as its global impact on knowledge and innovation. The WPP phase one enabled bank teams to better respond to changing client demands within the project cycle, and to integrate hard (infrastructure) and soft (institutional, policy, management) solutions that yield more sustainable outcomes. Phase one of the WPP was closed out in 2012 and phase two commenced. Water security, or having the right amount and quality of water in the right place at the right time, fosters social and economic progress. Where water is sufficient to meet demand, it can promote economy wide growth and enable countries to reach their food security, energy security, and human development goals. Where it is scarce, excessive, or unclean it can exacerbate multiple dimensions of poverty. Some countries have built robust economies on a foundation of low-cost water, but the underlying practices may not be sustainable for areas that will become drier or more populous in the future. Other countries have been unable to meet the daily water needs of their populations, and future water variability coupled with poor water management could, over time, push more people into poverty. Neither of these two worlds is protected from future water crises, which are heavily influenced by changing local circumstances.