This report draws together and summarises existing information on the benefits of water and sanitation.

Investments in water and sanitation are a prerequisite to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular on SDG 6 ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Blended finance can play an important role in strategically investing development finance to mobilise additional commercial finance needed to fill the current investment gaps. Thus far, however, blended finance has not reached scale in the water and sanitation sector. A greater evidence base is needed to better understand the current applications as well as the potential of blended models in the water and sanitation sector. This publication takes a commercial investment perspective and provides insights into three subsectors: (1) water and sanitation utilities, (2) small-scale off-grid sanitation and (3) multi-purpose water infrastructure and landscape-based approaches. The publication draws out recommendations for policy makers and practitioners to apply and scale innovative blended finance approaches where most appropriate.

The investments needed to deliver sustainable water and sanitation services are huge, yet most systems are underfunded. This book provides practical tools for investment and financial planning related to water.

Examines key issues related to water resources management including governance and inadequate investment and maintenance, the need for an integrated policy approach, and the need for a strong evidence base to support policy development.

Part of OECD Water Policy and Finance Set - Buy all four reports and save over 30% on buying separately! The provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater services generates substantial benefits for public health, the economy and the environment. Benefits from the provision of basic water supply and sanitation services such as those implied by the millennium development goals are massive and far outstrip costs. Benefit-to-cost ratios have been reported to be as high as 7 to 1 for basic water and sanitation services in developing countries. Wastewater treatment interventions can generate significant benefits for public health, the environment and for certain economic sectors such as fisheries, tourism and property markets, although these benefits may be less obvious to individuals and more difficult to assess in monetary terms. Finally, protecting water resources from pollution and managing water supply and demand in a sustainable manner can deliver clear and sizeable benefits for both investors in the services and end water users. Investments in managing water resources are going to be increasingly needed in the context of increasing water scarcity at the global level. The full magnitude of the benefits of water services is seldom considered for a number of reasons. Non-economic benefits that are difficult to quantify but that are of high value to the concerned individuals and society, i.e. non-use values, dignity, social status, cleanliness and overall well-being are frequently under-estimated. In addition, benefit values are highly location-specific (depending on the prevalence of water-related diseases or the condition of receiving water bodies, for example) and cannot be easily aggregated. Visit the IWA WaterWiki to share material related to this title: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/GoldenTruthsaboutWaterSanitationandHygiene

Building on the main water challenges identified by the OECD Environment Outlook to 2050, this report examines financing of the water sector; the governance and institutional arrangements that are in place; and coherence between water policies and policies in place in other sectors of the economy.

This report evaluates how well EECCA countries have done in ensuring people’s access to adequate water supply and sanitation services since their Economic, Finance, and Environment Ministers adopted the Almaty Guiding Principles to support such efforts in 2000.

Groundwater has provided great benefits to agriculture irrigation in semi-arid OECD countries, but its intensive use beyond recharge in certain regions has depleted resources and generated significant negative environmental externalities.

Based on joint modelling by the OECD and the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, this book looks forward to the year 2050 to find out what demographic and economic trends might mean for the environment.

The Toolkit for Water Policies and Governance compiles policies, governance arrangements and related tools that facilitate the design and implementation of water management practices in line with the OECD Council Recommendation on Water.