ABSTRACT

The World Water Vision and the associated Framework for Action presented during the Second World Water Forum held in The Hague in March 2000 estimated that the cost of required water services in developing countries during the period between 2000 and 2025 was around US$180 billion per year. This estimate refers to investment in new works alone, and takes no account of the ongoing costs of maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement. Broken down by sector, the required investments will be about US$30 billion for agriculture, US$75 billion for the environment and industry, and US$75 billion for water supply and sanitation (Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000; GWP, 2000).