When's the last time you remember a politician bringing up water policy on the campaign trail? It's far from the sexiest subject, but it absolutely merits discussion as climate change and overuse of water resources pose serious threats to the world's water systems.
"Roundabout 90% of global water policy is out of date," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. "We're effectively 40 years behind where we need to be on the policy calendar when it comes to being able to better manage our water resources."
The good news, he says, is progress is being made on frameworks to improve transparency around water policy and craft systems better suited to individual local needs. But he's worried about the technical skills required to manage complex sources like groundwater, and how competing interests will impact the development of new policy. Dalton spoke at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.