Partnerships for Water Security 

Recognizing the need to better link freshwater conservation and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives, the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group's Global Health Linkages to Biodiversity Conservation task group initiated a community of practice with the aim of establishing an integrated learning and knowledge sharing platform between freshwater conservation and WASH practitioners in a supportive and collaborative environment. The main goal of the community of practice is to bring together WASH and conservation practitioners to reduce watershed degradation and pollution, and improved health of freshwater ecosystems.

The proliferation of water crises is the biggest global risk facing countries and industries. In many developing and emerging economies, water-related risks, such as floods, shortages and pollution, are creating a rising tide of increasing business risks for companies, threatening their profits, supply chains, investments and reputations. These risks are also having massive impacts on communities and governments, threatening broader socio-economic development.

New partnerships among governments, companies and communities must be forged urgently to address these threats effectively. Companies, governments and communities need to work effectively together to address water-related risks. This is built on the understanding that the complex and multiple causes of threats to water security cannot be managed by any single actor and that joint efforts are necessary.