Water and Development: An Evaluation of World Bank Support, 1997-2007
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) examined all the water-related projects financed by the World Bank between 1997 and 2007.
Faced with mounting shortages of water, a worsening trend in water pollution and growing damages from climate change, the international community must find additional ways to support countries in managing their water resources. The challenge is to meet today's water needs while putting in place innovative strategies to address water stress -- manifested in shortages projected in the order of 40 percent by 2030 according to some calculations.
Water scarcity affects every continent of the globe. About 700 million people in 43 countries are under water stress, led by Ethiopia, Haiti, and Niger with the least amount of water available. The United Nations calculates that even if the Millennium Development Goals for clean water supply are achieved, 800 million people will still lack access to safe drinking water in 2015. And 1.8 billion people will still not have access to basic sanitation. Sustained population growth, urbanization and the demand for better livelihoods are contributing to a steadily deepening global water crisis.
Water has been a major focal area for World Bank lending to developing countries. Almost a third of all Bank projects approved since 1997 have been water related, totalling US $54.3 billion.
Project performance in water has been good, being the most improved sector against stated objectives in recent years, and with the biggest improvement in the Africa region. Water has also been successfully integrated with many other sectors. The Bank has contributed to improving access to clean water, especially in urban areas. It has balanced investments in infrastructure with improvements in the institutions that manage and allocate water.
The report points out that the World Bank needs to continue to work with countries and partners to tackle several vital, but relatively under-emphasized issues as countries will face heightened challenges in the coming decades.
First, water stress needs to be confronted systematically. The most water-stressed group consists of 45 countries (35 of them in Africa) that are water poor and not creditworthy enough to borrow their way out of water crisis. "
Second, investments and management of water supply need to be coupled with more effective management of demand. Demand management is a key challenge in the face of increasing water scarcity. Cost-recovery in Bank supported water projects has rarely been successful and efficiency enhancing technologies alone do not necessarily reduce water use in the agriculture sector.
Third, better groundwater conservation should be a growing priority. Groundwater is increasingly threatened by over-exploitation, inadequate environmental flows, and contamination. The most severe groundwater depletion is in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
Fourth, there needs to be a greater focus on environmental restoration. It is not always necessary to restore the water-related environment to a pristine state in order to obtain major social, economic, and environmental benefits and reduce vulnerability.
Fifth, there needs to be greater attention given to sanitation. Population growth in developing countries has been rapid, as has urbanization. An expansion of piped water services and higher household water use will lead to an accelerating demand for adequate sanitation. Within sanitation, more emphasis is needed on household connections, low cost technologies.
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