Water, an essential life element, has been an intriguing subject, inspiring artistic expression and symbolizing the genesis of life. It has played a profound role in the world of cinema. From the ambitious yet disastrous “Waterworld” (which proved to be a financial debacle with mixed reviews, marking a downturn for actor Kevin Costner) to Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” exploring the story of an aquatic creature, water and its inhabitants have captivated the imaginations of millions. Mermaids, in particular, have been central themes in films. Recall “Splash,” the Ron Howard movie starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, which sent ripples through the world with its enchanting tale and Daryl’s dazzling and captivating beauty. Despite water’s fundamental role in sustaining life and well-being, beyond its cinematic splendour, it remains elusive to 770 million people. According to the United Nations World Water Development Report 2023 Partnerships and cooperation for water, the demand for water is growing at 1 percent and will continue at this rate until 2050. This surge is particularly high in low-income and middle-income countries due to a combination of reasons – population growth, changing consumer, and socio-economic dynamics. According to the latest figures from 2020, 26 percent of the world’s population (2 billion people) lacked access to safely managed drinking water services (Target 6.1), while an estimated 46 percent (3.6 billion) lacked access to safely managed sanitation (Target 6.2). Around 60 percent of the world’s reported water bodies were categorized as having ‘good’ ambient water quality (Target 6.3). However, this global estimate significantly under-represents the poorest 20 countries. An excellent piece of news is that globally, water use efficiency (Target 6.4) increased by 9 percent from 2015 to 2018, rising from 17.3 to 18.9 US$/m³. The most significant progress occurred in the industrial sector with a 15 percent increase, followed by the water supply and sanitation services, and agricultural sectors with an 8 percent increase. Over the years, Official Development Assistance (ODA) committed and disbursed to ‘water’ has increased from $2.7 billion in 2002 to $8.7 billion in 2020. 1
Sadly, clean water is also a necessity for high-technology industries, such as the VLSI chip industry, which consumes a significant amount of this valuable and life-saving resource. With a lack of data on international cooperation for addressing critical water shortages, the need for non-profits and the private sector addressing the market failure is of utmost importance. To know more about market failures refer to the online microeconomics course on The middle Road.
YouTube: Water.org
One global nonprofit aims to be a game-changer in redefining safe, accessible, and affordable access to water, addressing the lack of availability of safe water. Water.org, a superlative empowering initiative co-founded by Hollywood superstar Matt Damon of the Bourne spy thriller series and Good Will Hunting fame, alongside Gary White, tirelessly works to provide safe water to the less privileged. Today, Water.org has successfully reached 60 million people in seventeen countries, ensuring access to safe water and sanitation. Water, beyond being a life-sustaining ingredient, is a vital source of nourishment. Its absence would deprive humans of the strength to endure and work. Aligned with the primary mission of the Sustainable Development Goals—eradicating poverty and hunger, water enhances wellbeing —access to water becomes paramount for the world to make meaningful strides towards this holistic objective. Water.org works in a unique collaborative water credit initiative; it partners with financial institutions across countries to include water and sanitation solutions within their portfolio. These financial institutions then raise capital from capital markets to provide loans to people at affordable prices. These loans enable people to buy taps, toilets, and other accessories that facilitate clean water and sanitation. The repayment of these loans leads to a sustainable business model, allowing more people to avail of the facility. This Water Credit Loan Strategy is designed to remove financial barriers between underserved communities and safe drinking water and sanitation. The microloan funding structure makes the solution both scalable and measurable.
Matt Damon is a leading Hollywood actor who rose to fame through his splendid performance in “Good Will Hunting.” One of the most versatile actors of our era, Matt has starred in the spy thriller “The Bourne Identity” series, “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Departed,” the sci-fi film “The Martian,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” etc. Matt Damon won the Oscars for Best Original Screenplay with his buddy Ben Affleck. A role model, Matt has elevated cinema through his wide selection of roles that span from action to drama, taking movie-making to new heights. The middle Road rates The Bourne Identity” series as the best spy series of all time, with “The Bourne Ultimatum” as the best spy action thriller of all time. Good Will Hunting gets a special mention as a tribute to the classy comic Robin Williams, whose sad demise robbed the world of a wonderful actor and human being, and whose contributions to art are unsurpassable.
YouTube: Universal Pictures All-Access The Bourne Ultimatum (Matt Damon) | Jumping from buildings | Movie Clip
As of today, 12.7 million loans for water and sanitation have been disbursed through Water Credit. This powerful collaborative model to disseminate microloans works through a carefully selected partnership model. In this initiative, Water.org selects the country and suitable financial partners for the outreach of micro smart loans that address financial clean water and sanitation problems. With 161 partners globally and $4.6 billion in disbursed capital, the nonprofit targets women; about 90 percent of loans were given to women, the most impacted by the water crisis, with the majority of them living below $6.85 per day. The repayment percentage of loans is unbelievably high at 98 percent, with an average size of $363. This is noteworthy and maybe not surprising, as Kiva, the crowdfunding platform that targets marginalized women entrepreneurs, has a very high repayment rate of the loans disbursed. Read more about Kiva here. Micro funding for marginalized communities was made famous by Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank, who used his insight to start an entrepreneurial revolution in Bangladesh. Despite the commendable efforts of Water.org, there remains much work to be undertaken. According to a UN report, in 2018, three out of seven SDG regions experienced water stress values exceeding 25 percent, notably Central and Southern Asia with high water stress and Northern Africa facing critical water stress. Further, on an average 10 percent of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress, which significant impacts water access and availability for personal needs.
An excellent policy initiative to curb water wastage is to encourage policies that limit water usage at the industrial, business, and household levels. At the business level, implementing taxation on waste above a permissible value would discourage corporations from squandering water and encourage more mindful usage. Incentivizing households by offering discounts on water pricing when there is a decrease in water usage over a specific period, for example, a quarter, is another useful tool to discourage waste. Water wastage is particularly high in agricultural practices including advanced countries, and this is where governments could step in with well-thought-out policies that promote the judicious use of water.
UN Sustainable Development Goals emphasize the importance of public-private partnerships in fostering sustainable change within the development sector. Matt Damon’s water initiative serves as a pivotal example of such a partnership, setting a precedent for others to implement similar business models across various development themes. Another crucial aspect is how efficiently we manage precious natural resources while prioritizing the well-being of humanity. Water.org is actively contributing to these goals through various strategies aimed at increasing water availability for less privileged sections of society. The question remains: Are you making a change for the better?
Reference
Water.org
- United Nations World Water Development Report 2023