UTP Insights- Water on Wall Street

Examining the paradox of clean water as a human right and a scarce economic asset, the text reveals how population growth, economic demands, and climate shifts trigger waste, pollution, and scarcity. It calls for fair pricing, tight regulation, and innovative conservation to secure water for all. In 2010, the United Nations declared access to clean drinking water a human right. Yet billions still face scarcity while water is wasted, polluted, and undervalued. Water on Wall Street confronts this paradox with clarity and urgency. Arguing that water must be treated as both a right and a responsibility – two sides of the same coin that will shape our future – researchers Marcel Boyer and Maria Kouyoumijian explore how population growth, economic expansion, and climate pressures heighten global demand. They demonstrate that socially responsible management requires new tools: efficient pricing, regulated markets, and transparent institutions that promote conservation while ensuring equity. Spanning history, policy, economics, law, and technology, this book speaks to readers who want to understand water in all its dimensions. Accessible yet rigorous, it offers a bold, solution-driven framework showing how protecting humanity’s most vital resource demands both ethical commitment and economic ingenuity.