When it comes to geopolitical risks and crisis management – and the insurance that goes with that – water problems in the Middle East and Africa could cause catastrophic global disruptions.
“Even though we hear so much about terrorism, when we look at global conflict, we as the global community spend about $1,000 billion [$1 trillion] every year to manage conflict,” he said.
In other words, yes, terrorism is a terrible peril but it is only 10% of the conflict [spend].” The pressing risk trend for insurers is unrest in Africa and the Middle East.
Widespread access to internet allowed the citizenry to see how they were treated politically, and to see how others lived, which could engender jealousy and extremism, Bentele said.
And both these regions could become more volatile if stresses and diffuclties were to arise there – as elsewhere – as a result of global warming creating water scarcity, said Dave Anderson, head of credit and political risk at Zurich.
“I think the water scarcity [global crisis risk] is the most dramatic, because it’s the hardest one to do anything about,” he said.
The whole area from northern Africa, up through the Middle East, and up to Afghanistan, millions of people are going to fall under the water scarcity problem.” As well as migration, Anderson said a scarcity of water would also lead to conflict – as vying groups would look to take control of what water is available.
“It’s potentially water as a weapon,” he explained.
It’s a disturbing development.
And climate change is just going to make it worse.” Related stories: Global protectionism could rock economy Top 10 biggest risks for companies revealed

Policy group helps communities make the most of scarce resource An Arizona think tank is looking to the Western Slope for ways to demonstrate how best to tie together land-use and water planning — lessons that could be used elsewhere.
The Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, a newly formed arm of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is looking for local communities it can help in developing best practices, build data and mapping tools, and take other steps to better manage water and land.
“By 2025, the United Nations predicts that 1.8 billion people — nearly one-quarter of the planet’s population by that time — will be living in regions with severe water scarcity.” The center was named for the former Arizona governor and secretary of the Interior under President Bill Clinton, Bruce Babbitt, who served eight years on the board of the Lincoln Institute.
Colorado is on the right track with a 2015 law that ties together land use and water planning, SB 15-008, and includes a goal that by 2025, 75 percent of Coloradans will live in communities that have integrated water resources into land-use planning.
The Lincoln Institute has a long history in land-use planning and has recently branched out into other areas branching out of that, Holway said.
Holway is a former assistant director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and he serves on the board of the Central Arizona Project.
Sophisticated techniques used by the Chesapeake Bay Conservancy to pinpoint sources of water pollution could be used in the West to learn more about water availability, said Paula Randolph of the center.
Communities that use the center’s services can seek their own answers on water and land use, Randolph said.
“We want to help,” she said, “We don’t want to dictate.” The Babbitt Center will work with a pilot community in Arizona, then seek one out in western Colorado.
The Lincoln Institute was founded by John C. Lincoln, a Cleveland industrialist and investor who established the Lincoln Foundation in Phoenix in 1946.

The pit, at the centre of Velip’s plantations, was a well filled with water before the summer arrived.
In Aagali in Shristhal, 35 families rely on two wells, as the year round, pipeline water supply never reaches the areas along the climb of the hill.
This summer, both these wells barely have a puddle at the base.
Two hose pipes each and a motorized pump lie lifeless at the edge of the wells now.
This year, most of the wells have dried up," said Velip.
From Chawdi to Cotigao, residents say that water flows from the taps barely once every three days, that too, for not more than two hours, if they are lucky that is.
But residents of the most interior regions like Cotigao and Gaondongri are worst hit as even public works department (PWD) tankers don’t reach here.
Naik blames the unchecked and excessive usage of water pumps to suck out water for horticulture as the reason for Canacona’s receding water table.
"We ration water at three barrels per week for the family.
All through his 50 years living in Canacona, Velip has seen many a harsh Goan summer, but the wait for the monsoon in what is otherwise Goa’s greenest belt has never been this desperate.

Indian activists wage water war with soft drink companies.
PepsiCo, a U.S. food and drinks group, was forced to shutter a bottling plant in the state of Kerala in February after a court directed industries to reduce water usage by 75% because of a drought.
The plant, officially closed for maintenance, is not expected to resume production until at least May 31.
The plant expects to employ more than 500 people.
In February, however, local activists started a petition calling for construction to stop, claiming it would cause pollution and water scarcity.
"We are in the process of collecting documents and data to show loss of water resources if the plant comes up," said Akshay Hunkar, a social activist who is spearheading the movement.
Coca-Cola India plans to draw water from the Narmada River, one of India’s largest waterways.
The river irrigates half a million hectares of land and provides potable water to 16 districts in the state.
Activists claim that the water level has been declining over the past two decades.
Droughts over the last two years have also hit farmers in the region.

Industrial Water Treatment Equipment Market – Trends and Forecasts by Technavio.
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Technavio’s latest report on the global industrial water treatment equipment market provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2017-2021.
Advances in membrane technology to emerge as a key trend in the global industrial water treatment equipment market.
Tweet this Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, a lead analyst from Technavio, specializing in research on water and waste managementsector, says, “Industry-specific demands and the growth in industrial development will drive the global industrial water treatment equipment market during the forecast period.
Looking for more information on this market?
The top three emerging trends driving the global industrial water treatment equipment market according to Technavio energy research analysts are: Increasing demand for clean water Plenty of water is available on the surface of the earth, and it has been estimated to be sufficient for future generations.
Advances in membrane technology Membrane technologies play a vital role in water and energy sustainability.
Increased need for water treatment in developing countries The increased need for safe water in developing countries is one of the main reasons for the rise in demand for water treatment equipment globally.
The increased need for water treatment in developing countries is one of the key trends expected to drive the growth of the market.
About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company.

The Labour ministry has approved job cuts at a flower firm which has been forced to close shop over water scarcity.
“The Ministry of Labour having duly inspected the disabling situation unanimously confirmed that Primarosa had genuine reasons to arrive at the decision,” noted Primarosa legal officer Sadia Carren-Ayah in a note to workers.
“A one month notice was given to employees to either consider moving with the company to Nyahururu or voluntarily resign with compensation.” Some workers protested and termed the layoffs unconstitutional.
The firm said staff members were given notice, more than a month’s pay and severance pay of 21 days for each year worked.
Economy & PoliticsMillions netted in Swazuri team raid Primarosa officials said the recent drought had forced the firm to buy borehole water to sustain production.
“Lack of water led to depleted production and poor quality flowers leading to rejection by both the local and international markets,” said Primarosa.
He said the farm plans to increase the export of roses.
Low rainfall in October and November and delayed long rains left about 2.7 million people in need of food aid.
The drought also forced Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) to intensify water rationing, with levels at the main Ndakaini Dam falling to an all time low.
Primarosa’s 1,500 workers produce over 60 million roses annually for export at its two farms in Ol Joro Orok, Nyandarua, and Athi river.

Keeping a looming water scarcity in perspective, the Asian Development Bank has nearly doubled its allocation for water sector projects across Asia to $4.2 billion this year from its average yearly funding of $2.4 billion in last six years.
In a welcome departure from a low-level annual funding of less than half a billion dollars in irrigation and drainage, the ADB decided to more than triple its funding in irrigation to $1.5 billion in 2017, placing high importance on crucial needs of farm sector in the largely agrarian Asian economies.
In the run up to the beginning of the ADB’s golden jubilee celebration and annual meeting in Japan’s port city of Yokohama today, the Bank’s Deputy Director General Amy Leung said this at a media briefing at the Pacifico Yokohama, one of Japan’s largest convention facilities, yesterday.
Leung said 3.4 billion people would be water-stressed in Asia by 2050 as projected demands for water would increase by 55 percent from now, food by 50 percent and energy by 66 percent.
Of the $4.2 billion, half a billion dollars would go to China as part of a four-year project worth $4 billion to revitalise the Yangtze river and turn the industries along the river green, said Leung.
Several countries increased resilience between 2013 and 2016, including Pakistan and the Philippines.” Bangladesh also lags behind in providing better water services like water, wastewater and stormwater managements in urban settings, according to the Bank.
This is part of the Bank’s $130 million trust fund established in recent years to support fast-growing cities in Asia thereby, reducing the risk the poor face from the negative impacts of climate change.
Leung said 150 million more people could have been provided with safe water if the leakage of water pipelines in the Asian countries was halved.
The issue of water got more complicated when countries failed to manage common river waters as upstream and downstream neighbours, she added.
Leung said ADB would soon publish a study identifying “water hotspots” in Asia — it would inform the governments across Asian nations about where and how they should focus to help people come out of water-starved situations in the coming decades.

In Madurai, Scarce Water Makes For A Profitable Drought Business.
Madurai: In Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, 43-year-old Shankmukham Nath is the bearer of good news for locals in Nehru Nagar.
As he honks, it signals the arrival of water, costing R 10 for 15 litres.
"People buy from us a can of water for Rs10.
They get angry at us, call and abuse us if we don’t come for even one day," Shankhmukham Nath says while driving the private water tanker.
But for the last three months, she has been spending around R 700 per month to buy water for her family of three.
"There is no corporation water here.
If private tankers are also stopped where will we get our water from?
Even though we have to pay for water, we are at least getting," Uma Devi says.
The government has said that in case of extreme unavailability of water, it will consider taking over the water sources of even private water tankers.

But with rising water scarcity in many regions, this is changing, and the importance of wastewater collection, treatment and reuse is steadily being recognised as a crucial piece in the jigsaw when it comes to sustainable textile manufacture.
Four breakout sessions at the upcoming Planet Textiles in Bangalore, India on 24 May will refer to this important issue and how this wastewater can be reclaimed and reused under circular business model principles.
A recent UNESCO report estimated that well over 80 per cent of wastewater worldwide (over 95 per cent in some developing countries) is released into the environment without treatment.
Sajid Hussaid, COO, Tamilnadu Water Investment Co, who was instrumental in the Zero Liquid Discharge Project in Tirupur will lead a session on textile wastewater and speak about some of the challenges he faced implementing this initiative in Tirupur dyehouses.
Other panel members on this session include: Stefan Siedel, head of sustainability, Puma; Flaviano Bianchini, founder & director, Source International; Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, head of sustainability, Pratibha Syntex and Rainer Zah, managing director at Quantis International which has developed and operates the Quantis Water Database – said to be the first database generating the water footprint of any product, service, company or organisation throughout its entire life cycle.
Oeko-Tex will moderate and run a special breakout session that aims to be a guide to the changing landscape of chemical management.
"The reduction of chemicals of concern requires globally harmonised strategies to proactively ensure a sustainable chemical management.
Swiss textile chemicals specialist Archroma will run a special textile wet processing session which will feature Elaine Gardiner, sustainability manager at Pentland Brands who will represent the AFIRM Group and Mohan Seneviratne, program manager at PaCT, International Finance Corporation.
Cost will also be an issue.
To book your delegate place, visit: www.mclnews.com/events/planet-textiles-2017

Despite the country’s water scarcity, waste water pumped into the rivers and dams is often not clean enough, polluting this increasingly scarce resource.
According to the latest Green Drop Report, which measures the health of the country’s waste water infrastructure, more than 80% of SA’s waste-water treatment facilities are not functioning properly.
Only 135 of the 824 waste-water treatment facilities are functioning well.
This means that human effluent and waste are entering the country’s water systems, threatening the health and livelihood of people who depend on rivers and dams for potable water or for irrigation.
Testing water for pathogens such as E Coli is difficult.
The CSIR’s rapid test, known as ColiSpot, can test for E Coli within a day, says Klariska Moodley, a senior research engineer and project manager at the CSIR.
The ColiSpot system consists of a flow test, which is similar to a home pregnancy test, a filter and incubation gear, which includes an oven and nutrients to grow bacteria.
After six hours, you can test for the presence of E Coli, says Moodley.
She says results for municipal Blue Drop, or potable water quality, and Green Drop (sewerage outflow water quality) are falling across the country.
"We aim to keep the cost of the test below R50 a sample, but when large-scale manufacturing is taken into account, this price could be further reduced," Moodley says.