The United Nations world water development report 2021: valuing water

It has often been stated that water is undervalued, or that we somehow need to recognize the ‘true’ value of water in order to make better decisions about how we protect, share and use it. But what does this really mean? Can the value of water be measured? And if so, how? Who actually gets to determine water’s value? In other words, what is water worth – and to whom? While these questions may appear clear and simple enough, the answers are anything but. The bottom line is that there is no one ‘true’ value of water. Rather, water holds a myriad of values that can differ greatly based on where the water is located, its level of abundance or scarcity, its quality, and its availability. Its values also depend upon the purpose it is used for and the benefits generated by these uses.
[France: 2021]

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