WRI Water

Ethiopia's Tana Subbasin is a lifeline for over 3 million people. It is critical to agriculture, industry, and local economies. Yet, deforestation, biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate variability are putting water supplies, ecosystems, and livelihoods at risk. Protecting Water Supplies and Catchments in Ethiopia’s Tana Subbasin (ProTana) is a new initiative designed to strengthen water security in the Tana Subbasin. Using a source-to-system approach, ProTana aims to protect natural sources of freshwater and improve water planning & management. Together with partners WaterAid Ethiopia, ORDA Ethiopia, Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) and the Abbay Basin Administration Office, the initiative will: 💧 Restore and protect critical catchments 💧 Strengthen water governance 💧 Support data‑driven decision‑making ProTana is about ecological, institutional & community resilience. By protecting natural systems and improving institutional capacity, it aims to build more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable water systems for the long term. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gvGxigjg Francesca Battistelli Muluneh Bimrew Zablon Adane Tinebeb Yohannes G

📣 New WRI Article featuring water security expert, Liz Saccoccia, on the conflict in Iran. Water is emerging as one of the most critical dimensions of conflict in the Middle East. WRI water security researcher, Liz Saccoccia, highlights how the Iran war is not just a geopolitical or energy crisis, but a water crisis in the making with serious implications for food security, energy systems, and regional stability. The region is already one of the most water-stressed in the world. Conflict is now amplifying that risk: 🚰 Attacks on desalination and water infrastructure threaten drinking water supplies for millions. 🌡️ Existing drought, climate change, and mismanagement leave little buffer for shocks. 🌱 Water systems are deeply interconnected with everything — agriculture, electricity, public health, and livelihoods. When they fail, the impacts cascade quickly. ☮️ This moment is a stark reminder: water security is not just an environmental issue — it’s a core pillar of peace and stability. As conflicts intensify, protecting water infrastructure and investing in resilient, cooperative water management must be part of the response. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMPx3gup

🌍 WRI and Partners Launch the Protecting Water Supplies and Catchments in Ethiopia’s Tana Subbasin (ProTana) project On 17 February 2026 in Bahir Dar, the Protecting Water Supplies and Catchments in Ethiopia’s Tana Subbasin (ProTana) project was officially launched by WRI’s Water team, together with implementing partners WaterAid Ethiopia, ORDA Ethiopia, Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) and Abbay Basin Administration Office, alongside government partners from national to woreda level. Building on work since 2021, and made possible through financial support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and #TheCocaColaFoundation, ProTana focuses on the Tana Subbasin — part of the larger Abbay River Basin — including the woredas of North Mecha, Dera and Farta in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region. The project advances an integrated “source‑to‑system” approach linking water resources management, water, sanitation and hygiene, and climate resilience. 👉 https://go.wri.org/RlQI6n The launch brought together key actors from the water, energy, agriculture, environment, forestry, cooperatives and land administration sectors — including government officials, academic institutions, development practitioners, private sector representatives and community leaders — reflecting the cross‑sector and participatory collaboration needed to strengthen water security at scale. Over the next five years, the initiative aims to strengthen water governance, support data‑driven decision‑making, and contribute to the restoration of approximately 2,000 hectares of watersheds. By addressing systemic and cross‑sectoral challenges from local to basin scale, ProTana seeks to contribute to safeguarding critical water sources, supporting improved livelihoods, and strengthening long‑term ecological, institutional and community resilience. We’ll be sharing more updates as the project progresses. Francesca Battistelli Tinebeb Yohannes G Muluneh Bimrew Zablon Adane Yigremachew Seyoum #Sustainablewater #Integratedwatermanagement #Climateresilience #Protectwatersources #Sourcetosip #Crosssectorpartnerships

The next webinar on Water Quality Benefit Accounting (WQBA) is one week from today! Join World Resources Institute, LimnoTech, and The Nature Conservancy for this technical webinar covering quantification principles and the technical calculation methods, with example scenarios demonstrating how to apply WQBA methods to different types of water stewardship projects. 📅 WQBA Technical Webinar: How to Quantify Water Quality Benefits: November 19, 2025 | 11AM EST / 5PM CET 📝Register now: https://lnkd.in/e_yvHfPT 🖥️ And if you missed the first webinar, you can watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/e_yvHfPT Learn more: https://lnkd.in/grHbEhbR Authors of WQBA: World Resources Institute: Sara Walker LimnoTech: Derek Schlea, Steve Skripnik, Laura Weintraub The Nature Conservancy: Naabia Ofosu-Amaah, Kari Vigerstol

Watershed restoration is bringing water back to Minzir.   In North Mecha, Ethiopia, a WRI-led project is proving that healthy watersheds are critical to sustainable water sources. Once dry and degraded, a community-driven restoration effort is reviving soils and water supplies in the Minzir 01 landscape.   This is more than environmental recovery—it's about water security and community resilience.   📖 Read more:  https://lnkd.in/dDu7PKzn Francesca Battistelli Muluneh Bimrew Zablon Adane Tinebeb Yohannes G World Resources Institute WaterAid Ethiopia Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) Bewuketu Abebe Tesfaw (PhD) Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

🌍 Aqueduct article out! “Grounding Global Water Risk Assessments in Local Data” In our new WRI technical perspective, we partnered with Unilever to dig into how global water tools like Aqueduct can be strengthened by grounding them in local data and stakeholder insights. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gNPC_twB When global and local perspectives meet, water risk assessments become far more actionable — for companies, governments, and communities alike. Here are a few key takeaways: · Global models provide scale and comparability, but they make global assumptions that may miss local dynamics. · Validation with facility managers and local stakeholders is critical to catching under- or over-estimations of water risk. · Documenting and communicating where global & local data diverge helps with transparency and continuous improvement. · Water stewardship should be iterative — revisit priorities as conditions change or new data emerges. #WaterRisk #Sustainability #ESG #DataDriven #ClimateResilience #WaterStewardship Samantha Kuzma Marc Dettmann Lourens Meijer World Resources Institute Unilever

Learn more about Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) 2.0 and Water Quality Benefit Accounting (WQBA) over a series of webinars this fall. Join World Resources Institute, LimnoTech, Bluerisk, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) for the following webinars to learn more about VWBA 2.0.  📅 Webinar 1: Introduction to VWBA 2.0: October 2, 2025 | 1PM EDT / 7PM CEST   📅 Webinar 2. VWBA 2.0 Technical Webinar: How to Quantify Volumetric Water Benefits: November 4, 2025 | 1PM EDT / 7PM CEST  📅 Webinar 3. VWBA 2.0: Planning, Implementing, Tracking Progress, and Communicating Benefits of Water Stewardship Projects: December 2, 2025 | 1PM EDT / 7PM CEST  📝 Register now: https://lnkd.in/gNJHRZEa   Join World Resources Institute, LimnoTech, and The Nature Conservancy for the following webinars to learn more about WQBA. 📅 Webinar 1: Introduction to WQBA: October 8, 2025 | 11AM EDT / 5PM CEST  📅 Webinar 2. WQBA Technical Webinar: How to Quantify Water Quality Benefits: November 19, 2025 | 11AM EDT / 5PM CEST 📝 Register now: https://lnkd.in/e_yvHfPT

📣NEW RELEASES! The next generation of corporate water benefit accounting is here! The new Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA 2.0) and Water Quality Benefit Accounting (WQBA) guidebooks provide corporate practitioners and project implementers with voluntary, principle-based, and non-prescriptive guidance to meet the growing needs related to corporate water stewardship goals. Developed by World Resources Institute, LimnoTech, Bluerisk, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), VWBA 2.0 is an improved version of VWBA that builds on lessons learned over the years, with new calculation methods and enhanced principle-based guidance. Developed by World Resources Institute, LimnoTech, The Nature Conservancy, WQBA is the first resource of its kind to provide reputable programmatic guidance and methods for companies reporting against water quality goals and gives companies the confidence they need to make better water quality commitments.   VWBA 2.0 and WQBA provide a consistent six-step process for companies and practitioners to make consistent, credible water benefit claims across diverse geographies, water stewardship activities, and water challenges: 🌎Understand the local catchment context 📋Identify and evaluate potential project activities and partners 🔢Quantify water outputs of project activities 🤝Plan and agree 🌱Implement project and track progress 📢Confirm and prepare for water benefit communications   Learn more: 👉The Next Generation of Corporate Water Benefit Accounting is Here: https://lnkd.in/grHbEhbR 👉Read VWBA 2.0 now: https://lnkd.in/eERqqfRp 📝Register for the VWBA 2.0 webinar series: https://lnkd.in/gNJHRZEa 👉Read WQBA now: https://lnkd.in/eWasMipX 📝Register for the WQBA webinar series: https://lnkd.in/e_yvHfPT We welcome water stewardship practitioners to view, use and share VWBA 2.0 and WQBA across their networks. Many thanks to the funders of this important work for their support. VWBA 2.0: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apple, Cargill, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Ecolab, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks.  WQBA: AB InBev, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cargill, The Coca-Cola Company, Google, Meta, and Starbucks.

🆕WPS analysis: #Pollution in Lake Victoria is pushing millions into heightened water insecurity The newest edition of WPS Quarterly Update finds that pollution from the lake’s surrounding cities is severely undermining Africa’s largest freshwater lake. As a result, aquatic life is under threat, and the health of 40 million people in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania is at risk. The #WPS our Global #EarlyWarningTool forecasts ongoing conflict in Kenya’s Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya, and Busia counties, and a rise in violent events in Tanzania’s Mara Region and Uganda’s Mukono District. Read more in the WPS #QuarterlyUpdate👉 https://lnkd.in/eDhXS36S The WPS Quarterly Update, based on findings from the WPS Global Early Warning Tool, calls for urgent national, regional, and international action to address the growing nexus between water insecurity, climate change, and violent conflict. #WaterAndPeace #WaterPeaceSecurity #WaterSecurity #Drought #ClimateChange #LakeVictoria #WaterConflict #WaterPollution #Uganda #Kenya #Tanzania HCSS - The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies Deltares Wetlands International International Alert World Resources Institute IHE Delft Institute for Water Education Yasir Mohamed Liz Saccoccia Audrey Legat Francesca Antonelli Laura Birkman Jessica Hartog Samantha Kuzma Tom Middendorp Eddy Moors Amb Frederic Gateretse-Ngoga Roelofs Karin Aaron T. Wolf Dire Tladi Anders Jägerskog Guleid Artan

Water is at the heart of everything we do. And it’s under threat. Today, 4 billion people — half the world’s population — face extremely high water stress at least one month each year. By 2050, that number could rise to 60%.   This isn’t just a statistic. It’s a reality shaping economies, communities, and ecosystems everywhere where demand for water is exceeding what’s available. Increased demand is often the result of growing populations and industries like: 🚿 Irrigated agriculture⁣ 🐮Livestock⁣ 🔋Energy production⁣ 🏭Manufacturing⁣   Combined with climate change and poor water governance, these pressures are pushing us to the brink.   We need bold action, and an all-of-the-above approach — smarter water governance, climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure and more — to close this gap.   Find out more from World Resources Institute's analysis: https://lnkd.in/eyDxsGCD