World Water Vision

A Vision Today for Water Tomorrow

Industrial and private water demands have grown to exceed natural supplies in many parts of the world. Without dramatic changes in water management, this local scarcity will soon extend to regional or global proportion.

Water Vision is designed to build a consensus among professionals and stakeholders to design management plans that avert further water crises. We believe that a sustainable water future begins with a Vision. Our Vision includes a world where all people have access to enough safe water to meet their needs including agricultural needs within management plans that maintain the integrity of freshwater ecosystems.

Responsible stewardship to safeguard the world's freshwater resources will require integrated management at all levels, from the individual to the international, to preserve the Earth while supporting the endeavors of humankind effectively, efficiently, equitably.

Water Vision's Unique Approach

A participatory process makes the World Water Vision unique. Within two years, over 15,000 women and men at local, district, national, regional and international levels shared their aspirations and developed strategies for practical action towards the sustainable use and management of water resources.

The World Water Vision draws on the accumulated experience of the water sector, particularly through sector visions and consultations. Further, Water Vision includes contributions from professionals and stakeholders who developed integrated regional Visions in more than 15 geographic regions. This approach takes Water Vision beyond an academic exercise to the foundation of a movement.

The World Water Vision was presented by the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century at the Second World Water Forum in March 2000 in The Hague, the Netherlands.