WEBINAR WRAP-UP — Water Credits in Africa: Financing Climate Resilience and Community Futures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE WEBINAR:
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Key Takeaways:
Water Credits represent measurable, verified improvements in water quality or availability. It´s a financial and transparency tool to reward conservation results, not water ownership.
Participants agreed that the greatest opportunity lies in mobilizing private finance and investor confidence in Africa’s water security.
The top success factor: strong governance and robust monitoring systems (MRV) to ensure credibility and integrity.
Insights from Global & African Leaders:
FONAG (Ecuador): Water funds can yield strong financial returns through avoided infrastructure costs. The challenge now is quantifying benefits.
BioCarbon Standard (Colombia): Piloting water credit methodologies in Latin America with a focus on digital MRV and local participation.
TNC South Africa: The Greater Cape Town Water Fund freed up two months’ water supply by removing invasive trees, showing the power of nature-based solutions.
World Bank: Policy alignment, blended finance, and de-risking tools are key to attracting large-scale investment.
Manufacturing Circle: Water credits must be basin-specific, transparent, and locally relevant to engage industry.
Poll Results:
Main Opportunity: Unlocking new sources of finance and investor confidence.
Main Challenge: Building strong governance and clear regulatory frameworks, followed by credible MRV and private sector leadership.
The Path Forward
High-integrity water restoration can deliver multiple dividends: secure water supplies, healthier ecosystems, carbon sequestration, and resilient communities.
The next step is to develop robust, transparent frameworks that make these outcomes investable, positioning Africa’s watersheds as natural assets that drive both climate and economic resilience.