Financing: risks from water scarcity and related social conflict

The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Stockholm International Water Institute / Swedish Water House (SIWI) are investigating the potential risks for financial institutions that arise from water scarcity and water related social conflict in Africa and Latin America. Entire value chains of companies will begin to be affected by water shortages, leading to increased costs, process and production delays, limits on capacity expansion, decline in demand for products and services, and changing customers' preference and expectations. All these factors can lead to material losses for financial institutions and financial markets as a whole. The project 'Risks of Water Scarcity: A Business Case for Financial Institutions' is financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Draft findings will be presented at a seminar [1] hosted by the World Bank and SIWI during the World Water Week in Stockholm on 15 Aug 2004.

[1] Financing of Infrastructure, http://www.siwi.org/waterweek/seminar-finance_wa...

Contact: Alberto Pacheco Capella, UNEP FI, Switzerland, alberto.pacheco@unep.ch or Johan Kuylenstierna, SIWI, Sweden, johan.kuylenstierna@siwi.org

Source: UNEP FI E-bulletin, Jun 2004

Keywords

• Financing