Chapter 06

Partnerships, property rights, and contracts for more water justice

Key takeaways

Partnerships between government and business should be more symbiotic. Short-termism and financialisaton plague some water and non-water markets, leading to the inequitable allocation of water between users. A new approach to partnerships, especially between the public and private sectors, must be based on a new approach to risk: where risks are shared between actors, the rewards should be shared as well.

Governments can embed conditionality in (new or renewed) water permits, contracts, and property rights – while addressing the challenge of dealing with permanent property rights and permits that cover twenty years or more and affect adaptive governance – to enable equitable and affordable access, and deliver a more water-secure world. Conditionalities can be used to, among other things: improve water conservation, the efficiency of water use, and how much water should be returned to ecosystems and the hydrological cycle and in what quality; direct investment for water-intensive agriculture and industries towards regions that are less water stressed; reinvest profits in productive business activities, such as R&D and innovation around water; or reinvest profits into watershed and water-basin conservation programs so the source is governed sustainably.

Water is being overallocated and misallocated, which means it must be re-allocated. In most countries and regions, the Earth system boundary for surface water has been breached, while minimum needs (water, food, energy) have not yet been met. To get back within safe and just water boundaries, the challenge is to reduce or make more efficient net water consumption and reallocate water more equitably between uses and users, from those who use too much to those who do not have enough. Rethinking the terms and conditions of partnerships is a key leverage point.

Partnerships, property rights, and contracts for more water justice

Key takeaways

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