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Moving from Theory to Practice: A Synthesis of Lessons about Incentive-Based Instruments for Freshwater Management

There has been growing interest in applying incentive-based instruments, such as pollution charges and tradeable permits, to address the twin challenges of accessing enough freshwater to meet our needs while also preserving the well-being of freshwater ecosystems.

Incentive-Based Instruments for Freshwater Management

Freshwater is perhaps the single most precious resource for human health and development.

Huffington Post: The Most Important Water Stories of 2015

In early 2015, participants at the World Economic Forum, a who's who of the political and business elite, ranked water crises as the top global risk. Water was also a key factor in the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a blueprint for international development over the next 15 years.

Sanitation and Water for All Partner Perspectives: One Year On: Companies and Respect for the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

2015 was a historic year for sustainable development. The world came together and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new framework that will guide development for the next 15 years.

Huffington Post: The Historic, Unprecedented, Landmark Climate Agreement

Historic. Unprecedented. Landmark. Also, the world's greatest diplomatic success. A turning point for the world. This is some of the language used to describe the global climate agreement reached this week in Paris.

Pumped Dry: Dry Wells, Sinking Ground in California

Huffington Post: Climate Science in 1956 and 2015

Despite the apparent inability of many of our current policy makers to accept the scientific reality of climate change, the science is not new. Fifty-nine years ago, on October 28, 1956, the New York Times ran a story in their Science in Review section entitled "Warmer climate on the earth may be due to more carbon dioxide in the air."

Oil, Food, and Water: Challenges and Opportunities for California Agriculture

Oil, gas, and agriculture are all central to California’s economy. Yet the extent of harmful chemical contamination from the oil and gas industry on food production is not well documented, and there are mounting concerns over human health impacts. This study sheds light on the risks posed when oil and gas production and exploration operate alongside agriculture.

Al Jazeera: The Salton Sea is Shrinking and Exposing Toxic Dust

Huffington Post: Damn Dams

The history of water development around the world, and especially in the western United States, is really a history of the construction of massive infrastructure, particularly large dams.

National Geographic ScienceBlogs: Breaking Water Taboos

The recent severe drought in the Western United States — and California in particular — has shined a spotlight on a range of water-management practices that are outdated, unsustainable, or inappropriate for a modern 21st century water system.

Keynote at The New York Times Food for Tomorrow Conference

Serving the Public Interest: Corporate Water Stewardship and Sustainable Development

The adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), at the 2015 United Nations Development Summit, lays out a compelling framework for collective action by government, the private sector, and civil society to address social and environmental issues that inhibit economic development and shared prosperity.

National Geographic ScienceBlogs: Impacts of the California Drought, Part 2: Net Agricultural Income

Last week, the Pacific Institute published the first comprehensive analysis of the impacts of the drought on California crop revenue and agricultural employment through 2014.

National Geographic ScienceBlogs: Impacts of the California Drought: Agriculture

California is in a severe drought – four years long now. But what does the drought really mean for the things we care about: food production, fisheries, industrial activities, rural communities?

Impacts of California’s Ongoing Drought: Agriculture

In 2015, California was in the midst of the most severe drought in nearly 120 years of instrumental record, with far-reaching effects in the state. This report examines the impacts of the drought on California’s agricultural sector through 2014.

Guide for Bringing Integrity to Companies’ Water Stewardship Initiatives: A Framework for Improving Effectiveness and Transparency

Today, the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate announced the first comprehensive guide on forming multi-stakeholder water stewardship initiatives with integrity.

Huffington Post: The New UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Fresh Water

For 15 years, the world community has worked to achieve a comprehensive set of goals and targets called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - launched in 2000 to tackle poverty, economic and environment inequity, and strategies for effective development.

New Data Show California Cities’ Progress towards State-Mandated Conservation Requirements

In response to the Executive Order Governor Brown issued in April, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted an emergency regulation requiring 25% savings in urban water use across the state, with a goal of saving 1.2 million acre-feet over a nine-month period.

Not a Drop to Drink: Dealing with Drought

In 2010, the UN passed a resolution recognizing access to water as a basic human right. The realization of this right is becoming increasingly difficult, as climate change disrupts rainfall and the growing global population places greater demands on this limited resource.

Peter Gleick at Sustainability @Scale 2015

National Geographic ScienceBlogs: Down the Drain: The Power and Potential of Improving Water Efficiency

Debates about water in California, the western U.S., and indeed, worldwide, have traditionally focused on the question of how best to further expand water supply to meet some hypothetical future increase in water demand.

An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California and Fracking Issue Briefs

This study, prepared by the California Council on Science and Technology in partnership with the Pacific Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, consists of three volumes. It explores well stimulation treatments in California; the risks these technologies pose to water, air, seismic activity, wildlife, plants, and human health; risks by geographic region within the state; and areas where there are information gaps.

Huffington Post: Laudato Si’ and Water: The Vatican’s Encyclical Letter and Global Water Challenges

The official text of the much-anticipated Vatican's Encyclical Letter, "Laudato Si'" was released today. While considerable attention is being devoted to the sections of Pope Francis's new Encyclical related ...

Sea-to-Sea Plans

California’s Salton Sea fast approaches a tipping point, driven by declining inflows and the continued absence of mitigation or restoration projects. Salton Sea import/export plans, often known as “Sea-to-Sea” plans, have been proposed and promoted for more than 30 years to address this challenge.