Introducing the Water Transition: A conversation on abundance and regeneration

“The Water Transition will be for the next 30 years what the energy transition has been for the last 30.” – Rod Naylor, Global Leader for Water, GHD

For generations, economic growth has relied on water supplied by natural systems. But climate change, population growth and rising demand are pushing those systems towards their limits, while water security is becoming increasingly important to energy, food production, technology and economic growth.

Rod Naylor believes this requires a fundamental change in ambition: from managing scarcity to creating abundance. That means using water more efficiently, but also recovering, reusing and ultimately creating the water societies need while reducing pressure on the natural environment.

In this episode, Rod Naylor joins Ben Hall, Global Thought Leadership Manager at GHD, to introduce the Water Transition and explore what it will take to build renewable, regenerative and adaptive water systems capable of supporting prosperous communities, economies and ecosystems for generations to come.

• The Water Transition could reshape our relationship with water in much the same way the energy transition has transformed how we think about power
• Water security is becoming fundamental to economic growth, energy systems, food security, technology and long-term resilience
• Creating abundance means moving beyond managing scarcity towards recovering, reusing and creating water while reducing pressure on natural systems
• Many of the technologies required for the transition already exist. Governance, economics, public trust and long-term decision-making are now among the biggest barriers
• Sustainability should not be the final destination. Regenerative water systems can help restore natural systems while supporting growing communities and economies
  
  

Explore the related Nexus article

Read Rod Naylor's Nexus article, The Water Transition: Why abundance, not scarcity, must define the next decade, which sets out the thinking behind the transition and why renewable, regenerative and adaptive water systems will be critical to future prosperity.