Making Water a Part of Economic Development
Better access to clean water, sanitation services and water management creates tremendous opportunity for the poor and is a progressive strategy for economic growth. This report articulates the close link between water and the economy and makes the case that investing in water management and services is absolutely essential for the eradication of poverty and is a necessary condition for enabling sustained economic growth.
The poor gain directly from improved access to basic water and sanitation services through improved health, averted health care costs and time saved. Good man-agement of water resources brings more certainty and efficiency in productivity across economic sectors andcontributes to the health of the ecosystem. Taken together, these interventions lead to immediate and long-termeconomic, social and environmental benefits that makea difference to lives of billions of people.
This report was commissioned by the Governments of Norway and Sweden and prepared by the Stockholm International Water Institute in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
