The Global Water Initiative

The Global Water Initiative aims to address the global water crisis by leveraging a multistakeholder network to implement UN Sustainable Development Goal 6. It focuses on integrating Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies—such as AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things—to improve water management, transparency, and sanitation. The initiative also partners with the 2030 Water Resources Group to drive water resource reform in developing countries, targeting a projected 40% global water deficit by 2030.

• Water has consistently ranked among the top five risks of highest potential impact over the next decade for seven consecutive years, ranking fourth in the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2018.
• Global water demand is projected to rise significantly across sectors: energy production demand is expected to increase by 20% through 2035, and manufacturing demand is predicted to increase by 400% from 2000 to 2050, primarily in emerging economies.
• Under a business-as-usual climate scenario, the world is projected to face a 40% global water deficit by 2030.
• The Global Water Initiative is exploring how Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies can solve water security issues, specifically using blockchain for water valuation and trading, AI and remote sensing for risk detection, and IoT for decentralized sanitation and hygiene services.
• The 2030 Water Resources Group, supported by the Global Water Initiative, operates in 13 locations with over 500 partners to address the water supply-demand gap in water-stressed regions.

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). The Global Water Initiative. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Environment_Team/00042829_Water_initiative.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Global Water Initiative. 2017. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Environment_Team/00042829_Water_initiative.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Global Water Initiative |date=December 2017 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Environment_Team/00042829_Water_initiative.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Global Water Initiative}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Environment_Team/00042829_Water_initiative.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }