Adaptation through Water: Mobilizing the Private Sector for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia

The report introduces 'adaptation through water' (AtW) as a framework to unify public and private efforts in Southeast Asia, where climate change manifests primarily through water-related hazards. It identifies three core challenges—too much water (flooding), too little water (drought), and too dirty water (pollution)—and proposes four cross-cutting opportunity areas for the private sector: flood damage reduction, water optimization and circularity, financing AtW, and water and nature innovation. The document estimates that fortifying the region's resilience to flooding alone will require approximately $13 billion by 2030.

• Southeast Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change, with potential GDP losses estimated between 18% and 25%. The region faces intensifying extreme weather, including rising sea levels that threaten 19 of the 25 most exposed cities in Asia.
• The report defines 'adaptation through water' (AtW) as a strategy to minimize climate change's negative impacts by influencing both natural and engineered water cycles.
• Flooding represents a critical risk in Southeast Asia, with annual direct losses of at least $2 billion and 152 million people (25% of the population) at risk. Viet Nam is identified as the most at-risk country globally for riverine flooding and the second most at-risk for coastal flooding.
• An estimated $13 billion investment is required by 2030 to enhance flooding adaptation and resilience in Southeast Asia. The Philippines requires the largest share of this investment (approximately $4.4 billion) due to high coastal flooding risks from tropical cyclones.
• Water scarcity and drought pose severe threats to food security, particularly in Thailand, the Mekong Delta, and Central Java. Thailand is noted as suffering from drought more frequently than any other country in the world.
• The rapid growth of data centres in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, is creating significant pressure on water and energy supplies. In mid-2024, Malaysia had approved less than 18% of applications for water usage for these centres.
• Water distribution inefficiency is a major issue in Southeast Asia, with major countries experiencing water loss in distribution systems four to eight times higher than the benchmark set by Singapore.
• Water quality is an emerging crisis driven by agricultural runoff, industrial wastewater, and salinity intrusion. Approximately 100 million people (15% of the region's population) are affected by poor water quality, primarily in Indonesia and the Philippines.
• The report proposes a framework for private sector action based on four cross-cutting opportunities: flood damage reduction, water optimization and circularity, financing AtW, and water and nature innovation.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Adaptation through Water: Mobilizing the Private Sector for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptation_through_Water_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Adaptation through Water: Mobilizing the Private Sector for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptation_through_Water_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Adaptation through Water: Mobilizing the Private Sector for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia |date=June 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptation_through_Water_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025adaptation, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Adaptation through Water: Mobilizing the Private Sector for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Adaptation_through_Water_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }