At the Tongogara Refugee Camp in a semi-arid part of Zimbabwe, where over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique reside, water was extremely scarce.

However in 2018, the situation at the camp improved tremendously. There is no more waiting for hours. New high-capacity boles and an irrigation system were installed with funding from the African Development Bank. All the ten sections of the camp and surrounding communities now receive piped water because five boreholes were drilled, two in the camp and three in the neighbouring communities. The total pumping capacity of the boreholes is 28,000 liters per hour, powered by solar panels.

Green Bonds Funding a Water-secure Future

The latest data, which is provided in seven SDG indicators reports recently published by the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (IMI-SDG6), show us that 2 billion people worldwide still live without safely managed drinking water and 3.6 billion without safely managed sanitation. In addition, 2.3 billion people lack a basic handwashing facility with soap and water at home. Most wastewater is returned to nature untreated. One in five of the world’s river basins are experiencing rapid changes, such as flooding or drought with increased frequency and intensity, and 80% of wetland ecosystems are already lost.

In Durban, South Africa’s third largest city, an amount of wastewater equivalent to 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools has been treated and reused for industrial use by a paper mill and a local refinery every day since 2001.

A public-private partnership (PPP) between the city and a private environmental services company made this achievement possible. And it is a good example of how wastewater reuse is helping some cities address critical water shortages.

Near or far, the role of forests in securing clean water for residents and the agricultural lands that cities rely on is equally crucial.

Not only is clean, safe, and affordable water essential to human health and well-being, the pandemic reminds us of how critical clean water is to health and hygiene. And yet, the world is on the precipice of a historic global water crisis.

The situation is dire, but one asset is already at our fingertips. Forest can alter the movement, quality, and availability of water. With the majority of the planet’s population inhabiting cities, the connection between cities, water, and forests works at three levels: inner forests, nearby forests, and faraway forests. Here’s how each one protects water in cities, no matter how far away.

The solutions to the world’s water crises cost far less than you might think. New WRI research found that securing water for our societies by 2030 could cost just over 1% of global GDP — about 29 cents per person, per day from 2015-2030.

How can demand management and nature-based solutions help achieve water security for all, while helping protect and restore the natural environment?

Once-unthinkable water crises are becoming commonplace. New data from WRI’s Aqueduct tools reveal that 17 countries—home to one-quarter of the world’s population—face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress, where irrigated agriculture, industries and municipalities withdraw more than 80% of their available supply on average every year. Forty-four countries, home to one-third of the world, face “high” levels of stress, where on average more than 40% of available supply is withdrawn every year.

Water Stress is not your destiny. Like any challenge, its outlook depends on management. Even countries with relatively high water stress have effectively secured their water supplies through proper management.

In any geography, water stress can be reduced by measures ranging from common sense to cutting-edge. There are countless solutions, but here are three of the most straightforward.

A decade ago, the South African city of Durban was facing severe water shortages. Dam reservoirs were decreasing at alarming rates, and were 20% lower than average levels. At least one in four residents were already living in water-stressed informal settlements. The city was expanding faster than municipal capacity could keep up with. Service backlogs and proliferating slums seemed to be entrenching poverty.

But by taking a regional approach and investing in participatory processes, Durban has been able to identify, target and mitigate the root causes of its water woes for its three million residents. The city is one of many on the frontlines of the effects of climate change, but also in the right place to lead on climate action that centers resilience.

This is one finding from WRI’s new report, Water Resilience in a Changing Urban Context: Africa's Challenge and Pathways for Action, which highlights the ways in which African cities understand, plan, govern and finance their water systems need to change.