Foresight as a Tool in Water Resource Development

The World Water Vision report launched in 2000 by the World Water Commission for the twenty-first century described four scenarios for the future of water resources; three of these were quantified. The fourth was a qualitative scenario or vision that showed how a viable change in our practices involving solution elements of the other three scenarios could lead to securing access to safe water supplies for the world population by 2025. Fourteen years later, the status of water quality and availability around the world has led experts to point to a global water crisis: the world is further from the 2025 Vision than in 2000. In this article, the co-authors – including the Vision’s co-author – identify some of the reasons why the foresight effort did not herald the expected change, and look to how current water foresight initiatives are seeking to further narrow the gap with stakeholder needs.