The world is facing a global water crisis marked by growing competition for freshwater resources, rapidly deteriorating water quality, poor and declining ecosystem health, unprecedented biodiversity loss, and a failure to meet basic water and sanitation needs. This crisis is exacerbated by population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, and, increasingly, climate change. The concept of water resilience has emerged recently in response to growing recognition of a more variable and uncertain future.

In this brief, the Pacific Institute  presents  a  working  definition  of  “water  resilience.”  The definition of water resilience in this brief informs the Pacific Institute’s 2030 organizational goal and related work.  Additionally,  this  definition  may  also  help advance understanding  and  the achievement  of  water  resilience  by  businesses, governments, NGOs, policymakers, and other water policy and practice actors beyond the Pacific Institute.