by Kerry Freek

GLOBE-Net, July 5, 2012  - Water needs a radical rethink, says Nicholas Parker, Chairman of the Cleantech Group and of the Blue Economy Initiative.

"After two hundred years of managing water the same way, we've gotten too comfortable," he says. "The future provokes us to think about what this system means."

At the Canadian Water Summit on June 28, Parker cited Vancouver-based Ostara's technology as an example of Canada moving forward. The company sees waste as a renewable resource, extracting nutrients that generate cost savings and revenues for waste water treatment plants.

The need for cleaner water could present some interesting economic opportunities, says Parker, especially on an efficient, affordable micro-scale for smaller communities. 

Known for his work in the cleantech sector (in fact, his research company introduced the term) and the private investment and advisory business, Parker is Chair of the Blue Economy Initiative (BEI), a project with a vision to position Canada as a global leader in water sustainability.

The Royal Bank of Canada, the Canadian Water Network, and the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation founded the Blue Economy Initiative in 2011. 

"Our challenge is to explain water scarcity to Canadians, and our opportunity is to service the planet," says Parker. The world water market is currently valued at US$400 billion and projected to reach $1 trillion by 2020.

He compares Canada's progress in this market to countries such as the Netherlands, Israel and Singapore, all making a big splash in the marketplace: "We tend to be a little slow in the emerging green economy. The BEI hopes to change that." 

Within the next decade, a third of the planet is going to be living in areas that are water scarce. It's a reality that puts Canada, with its relative abundance of water, in a good position to export its management and technological expertise.  

"We can't just pull up the drawbridge and say 'good luck,'" he says. "That doesn't seem to fit in with our ethic as citizens. If we're good stewards of the water we have, we can make things that the world needs, and provide exportable excellence in our innovative approaches and technologies. That's the essential thesis." 

Parker (pictured left) says translating water's value into raw economics is the first big challenge. BEI's first report, Running Through Our Fingers, tackles the question.

Authored by Brock University economists Steven Renzetti and Diane Dupont and author Chris Wood, the 2011 paper reveals that we don't have the information we need to know how much water contributes to the economic value of different activities.  

What the research can quantify, however, would suggest that water is responsible for a contribution of between CAD$7.8 and $22.9 billion, a number that Parker says is "grossly underestimated."

When the federal government undertook a similar inquiry in 1985, economist Andrew Muller came up with an estimate of between $7.5 and $23 billion (equivalent to $15 to $44 billion in 2011 dollars). Renzetti's results are about half the value when compared in 2011 dollars, numbers that are accredited to a deficit of available information. 

"The good news is that water is extremely important to everything we do. The bad news is that we don't have a clue how to quantify its value," Parker says. "The report sets the stage for the second part of our journey-how do we communicate water's value in a global context?" 

The second report is scheduled for publication by the end of this summer. Parker sees the series as one part of what could change the water dialogue, leading to better informed decisions and real-world action. 

"We can't move forward without good information," he says. "The opportunity is there, but we must be well prepared and ready to talk about new approaches."

Kerry Freek is the Editor of Water Canada.