10th World Water Forum Bali 2024 – 5 Key Takeaways

By Dawn McGregor, Chien Tat Low 25 June, 2024

The 10th World Water Forum was held in dreamy Bali but how dreamy was the Forum? Are global water conversations advancing? What were the hot topics? CWR's McGregor & Low share their 5 key takeaways

Interesting opening plenary with surprise speech from Musk; overall some convos have advanced while some less so but can't let that slow us down, all need to run together
Good to see that a holistic approach is common across sessions but still need to widen 'holistic' esp. with finance sector; lots on disaster risk reduction but nothing on insurance
Salt-water threats critically missing but ice & HKH had a session; let's not just hope there's been change by the next Forum, let's all be 'water warriors' & make that change

The World Water Forum – which takes place every three years – held its 10th edition in Bali this year from May 18th – 25th, jointly organized by the Indonesian Government and the World Water Council (WWC). We last attended the Forum in 2015, when it was hosted in South Korea; see our takeaways from then.

In the opening plenary:

…“No water, no life, no growth” – Indonesian President

…be a ‘water warrior’ – WWC President

…desalinate & go solar – Elon Musk

The theme for the 2024 Forum was “Water for Shared Prosperity” and it did to differing degrees, resonate throughout the conference. During the opening plenary, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said it clearly, “No water, no life, no growth”. Meanwhile, WWC President Loïc Fauchon gave us all a call to action, be a ‘water warrior’.

And making a surprise guest appearance was Elon Musk (he was in country to launch Starlink), who spoke mainly on how desalination and solar energy could solve global water issues. There’s been mixed reviews about his short speech… water is often an overlooked and unsexy sector so the spotlight it gets from someone like Musk attending the Forum is huge but it also means that what is said needs to be sound. It did make for an interesting opening.

The rest of the Forum was filled with parallel sessions, expos and events. Refreshingly, there was a much larger Asian presence at the Forum, which made for more balanced perspectives and conversations (something that we’ve noted is missing at other global water events).

Some convos have advanced while some less so…

…can’t let that slow us down, all need to run together

Some conversations have clearly advanced while some less so but this reflects where the world is on water, there is still 2.2 billion people without access to safely managed water. Yes, there are different priorities but we can’t let this slow us down, there is no time to waste with climate change only going to exacerbate our water crises, we must all run together.

For our key takeaways from the Forum and the event we spoke at, see below.

  • Evidence Based Financing for Crises, Recovery and Resilience – CWR presented at the session that was convened by the Asian Development Bank. Other presenters included the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (Japan) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Tohoku University. CWR emphasised the chronic physical risks associated with basin risks and sea level rise, which often receive insufficient attention but can have significant financial impacts. See more here.

Here are our five key takeaways.

1. Good to see that a holistic approach is now more common across sessions including source-to-sea and integrated river basin management approaches

It was positive to see across many sessions that a holistic approach is now the norm. There is still lots of work to be done to widen what ‘holistic’ means in terms of actions and other sectors, in particular finance (more on this below) but we are at a better baseline now, which can lead to more effective and faster action.

Still lots to be done to widen what ‘holistic’ means in terms of actions & other sectors…

…but we are at a better baseline now

‘Source-to-sea’ and ‘integrated river basin management’ were in the titles of various sessions and the topics of many discussions, which is not the case at most events and in all geographies.

In particular, river basin management, which is very developed in China, was also the topic of advanced case studies from South Korea and Japan at the Forum. And actually during the Forum, China’s Minister of Water Resources, Li Guoying, called to develop a community of good practices on river ethics across the world. However, while there’s been progress in these areas, it was noted that to fast-track action more data and more open science is needed.

2. Lots of sessions around disaster risk reduction

Disaster risk reduction was one of the six key themes of the Forum but seemed to have the most related sessions. This could possibly be because of Indonesia’s propensity for natural disasters – earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides & more. Also likely contributing to it being a popular theme is increasing extreme weather and climate events that are causing devastation, taking lives and costing billions in damage. Indeed, the Asia-Pacific region is most vulnerable to climate change risks.

Lots on disasters, risks & resilience but nothing on insurance

Completely missing from the Forum, at least we didn’t come across any, was discussions on insurance for such instances or discussion from the insurance industry. This isn’t specific to the Fourm, it’s an ongoing issue at most events. It’s another difficult conversation but one that we need to seriously have and sooner rather than later when it’s too late for everyone, insurers and re-insurers included.

3. Salt-water threats from sea-level rise to ocean pollution critically missing from the agenda

Glaringly missing from the Forum were sessions and conversations on salt-water threats, such as sea level rise (which Indonesia is very exposed to & already suffering from) and ocean pollution – all of which are as pressing as freshwater threats, even posing existential threats.

To effectively mitigate & adapt to the massive & increasing water threats we need to consider all – fresh water, saltwater & ice

So, while it was positive to see a more common holistic baseline approach on freshwater, as we noted above, it’s painful to see how limiting and slow the water sector still is in some areas. Yes, water is a segmented sector for various reasons but we can’t afford to stay that way. To effectively mitigate and adapt to the massive and still increasing water threats we need to look at and consider fresh and saltwater as well as ice. Positively, there were a few sessions on ice, more this in our next takeaway below.

4. Great to see a session on ice covering mountain glaciers and the Hindu Kush Himalayas but need to ramp up urgently

Great and somewhat surprising – since major saltwater threats, usually the next imminent issue after freshwater, were missing from the agenda – was a session on ice covering glacial melt and the Hindu Kush Himalayas. These conversations are crucial with accelerated ice melt from mountain glaciers, sea ice and icesheets. As we’ve shown, these can redraw entire coastlines, especially in APAC.

Great to see a session on ice, now need to ramp up…

…2025 is the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation

This session provided a great overview of the risks, situation and what needs to happen to make progress (more data, more transboundary cooperation & more funding). The session organised by ESCAP, International Water Management Institute and the Asia-Pacific Water Forum was attended by around 40 people; not nearly the number it should be.

We hope to see more such sessions at all water and climate events. 2025 is the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, during which an international conference will be held in Tajikistan. If you’re not sure where to start with ice, contact us.

5. Financing big on the agenda but limited showing from finance sector other than usual players

There were many sessions on the topic of financing for water and a few on financing water more broadly like on adaptation but other than the usual multilateral development banks, we didn’t come across anyone from the finance sector.

Need change or where are we going to find the billions needed to solve our water crises?

This is clearly another example of where the water sector needs to change because otherwise where are we going to find the billions needed to solve our water crises? It’s not all challenges, there are opportunities here like green finance in water’s net zero transition and more.

The next World Water Forum will be in 2027 in Saudi Arabia with the theme, “Action for a Better Future”. Let’s not just hope we’ve made changes by then, like WWC President said, let’s all become water warriors!

Further readings

More on Latest

  • 2023 State of Ecology & Environment Report Review – How has China’s water quality progressed in 2023? Check out our review for a blow-by-blow account of water quality movements by key rivers & reservoirs for 2023 as well as historic trends since the release of its 14FYP in 2021
  • 2023 Marine Ecology & Environment Status Review – The marine ecology & environment of China continues to improve, with a remarkable 85% of its coastal waters classified as ‘Excellent/Good’. Dive deeper into our review of MEE’s annual report to learn more
  • Water Crises Warrants River Ethics – Can better river ethics be a solution to the global water crisis? Water gurus Biswas & Tortajada think so – join them to explore the current progress & evolution of river ethics & management in China & around the world
Author: Dawn McGregor
Dawn leads CWR’s engagements to help companies and sectors navigate the fast-evolving risk landscape. With a decade at CWR, she has not only helped build the brand but has amassed a deep understanding of the complex, interlinked and compounding water risks. Her access to global water leaders, CEOs, IPCC lead authors also gives her unique insights into the challenges in ensuring water security in a changing climate. She has helped Asian conglomerates, global fashion brands and food MNCs unpack and assess water risks as well as advised them on risk mitigation and stewardship strategies, including achieving water positive targets. Her research to help brands and Chinese manufacturers move towards a clean and circular future has even inspired the fashion industry to create a new wastewater tool. Dawn is a frequent keynote, panelist and moderator and her work can be found in publications by the UN and the International Journal of Water Resources Development, among others. She can also be found on Channel News Asia as well as the SIWW Water Leaders Interview Series where she steers the high-level conversations on the future of water. Prior to CWR, Dawn worked at a global investment bank. She is a global citizen that was born and bred in Hong Kong and now based in Singapore where she can often be found out on the water doing standup paddling, wing foiling and more.
Read more from Dawn McGregor →
Author: Chien Tat Low
Low heads CWR’s geospatial analysis work to identify risk hotspots to plan better resilience. His 3D flood maps have triggered corporates and banks to start assessing their coastal threats, featured in the annual reports of a number of publicly listed firms. Low’s geospatial models were a key input for the ground-breaking CWR APACCT 20 Index that benchmarks coastal threats across 20 cities in APAC. Currently, he drives the CWR’s Re-IMAGINE HK initiative for “low-regret adaptation”. He also co-authors reports in the CWR Accelerate Threat Series, igniting dialogues on fast-tracking climate transitions. Low’s work has also been cited by media outlets likes Bloomberg TV, SCMP and even by the UN Secretary-General. Emphasizing creative climate change awareness, Low integrates visual arts and science in various collaborative projects with the likes of CUHK’s Museum of Climate Change, M+ Museum and HK Ballet. He is also an advocate for “education unusual” and has designed water-nomic coursework for a MSc in Investment Management programme and a climate hackathon workshop for HKUST. As a certified GIS Professional, he has also taught GIS modules at universities. Low has a PhD and prior to joining CWR completed a postdoctoral fellowship at HKU. His geospatial research is published in multiple prominent international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.
Read more from Chien Tat Low →
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