Water is at the centre of economic and social development: it is vital to maintain health, generate energy and create jobs while sustaining the natural environment. A wide variety of economic, social and environmental services are derived from water resources, ranging from water supply and hydropower generation to navigation and recreation. Water resources are also an integral part of the natural environment, supporting biodiversity as well as underpinning the agriculture which provides the world’s food. This paper identifies some of the key intersections between trade policy and water management, in areas such as agriculture, hydropower generation, water services and wastewater management. While the local nature of water systems and the diversity of water management objectives is not conducive to the application of trade instruments to enforce a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all, approach to water management, the paper identifies a range of areas in which trade policy could support the sustainable management of water.
This handbook aims to foster a better understanding of the interlinkages between international trade, the environment and the green economy. It therefore focuses on national and international trade policy and rules, on environmental governance and principles, and the relationship between both.
This handbook describes in detail how trade can affect the environment, for better and for worse, and how environmental concern can work through the trading system to foster or frustrate development, in both rich and poor countries.
International trade in environmental goods and services (EGS) may contribute to the achievement of environmental, economic and developmental benefits and to the transition towards a “green economy”.