Adaptation through Water 2025

Five case studies to catalyse AtW3 Five diverse projects from across the world highlight a variety of innovative solutions and opportunities relevant to Southeast Asia’s water adaptation challenges. Businesses and investors have a direct interest in backing AtW strategies: it reduces their exposure to risk and ensures business continuity when crisis strikes. Their own improvements and the positive impact on their business and community can also influence other businesses and stakeholders to take action. In addition, adaptation presents growth opportunities for a variety of businesses, sectors and investors, in the form of physical, digital and service products and solutions. Finally, by participating in adaptation measures, businesses can ensure compliance with regulation, opening the possibility of helping to shape smarter, more effective outcomes. AtW is a new concept, but a number of AtW projects across the world are already completed or underway. To help businesses and investors understand the solutions and potential opportunities available to them, this report evaluates more than 20 cases. The following pages highlight five strong examples from across the world at various stages of development. Each focuses on a particular action area and each reflects innovative solutions, for example: –Adapting to “too much water”: how coastal defences can reduce damage from flooding. –Adapting to “too little water” and water that is “too dirty”: how water circularity and source diversification can reduce waste. –Funding: how to leverage new sources of financing for AtW projects. –Technology: how technology such as AI and data infrastructure can boost water resource optimization. Whether an early-stage project, a work-in-progress or a recent implementation, each of these cases serves as a beacon to illuminate new possibilities. Each illustrates the many dimensions of the private sector’s potential contributions to adaptation and the value of public-private partnerships in accelerating and scaling-up these strategies. Figure 11 summarizes the five case studies and highlights the relevance of their solutions and innovations to Southeast Asia.