Supporting sustainable development
International RE-Source Award for Sustainable Watershed Management
Access to a clean water supply is a fundamental human need – and an essential requirement for building a sustainable future. The increasing pollution of global water reserves, more frequent water scarcities and a growing world population will all take their toll on food production, human health, the natural environment and economic development.
Our risk research clearly indicates that water will play a key role in the future – politically, socially and economically. In recognition of this, Swiss Re, with its commitment to the principles of sustainability, has initiated an annual RE-Source Award which provides financial support to promising watershed management projects. At a 17 March 2003 award ceremony, an international jury of watershed experts from NGOs and governments awarded first prize to a proposal for a Guatemalan biosphere reserve (see news release)
Swiss Re's RE-Source Award, valued at USD 100,000, is designed to encourage and support the implementation of projects that promote awareness of the ecological, social and economic significance of water resources. A total of 105 projects were submitted. Held at The Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon, the event offered a panel discussion on the question "To whom does water belong?" and included the launch of the next RE-Source Award, which has a submission deadline of 31 August 2003 (see competition details).
The winning project from Guatemala which received USD 70,000, conserves the watersheds of the Sierra de las Minas biosphere located in species-rich mountains near the country’s centre. Steve Gretzinger of WWF International, who accepted the award for the project, said “At the heart of the initiative is a funding model for transferring payments from water users in agriculture and industry to upstream conservation activities.”(see interview) A community-based land and water resource enhancement project in Nepal, and a financing mechanism for sustaining water resources on the Jaguari River in Brazil, received the second and third-place prizes.
Supporting sustainable development
Swiss Re’s approach for supporting the development of such strategies and practices aims to:
- Swiss Re’s approach for supporting the development of such strategies and practices aims to:
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Raise issue-specific awareness and generate know-how among major water stakeholders
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Foster dialogue to develop effective framework conditions and best practices
Optimise risk selection, mitigation and prevention measures in risk transfer solutions and services, asset management and facility management
- Support projects and initiatives for efficient and environmentally sound water usage.
Sponsoring water activities
Swiss Re places a special focus on water in its sponsorship activities, “Sharing Solutions”, in an attempt to build awareness and promote change in the areas of water quality and availability. Swiss Re sponsorship activities include, among others, “Water is Life”, a programme to provide long-term access to drinking water for a drought-stricken area in north-eastern Brazil; an International Water Management Course to take place for the first time this July at Swiss Re’s Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon; and “RiverSmart”, a public awareness and education campaign on rivers and clean drinking water in the United States.
Additional information about the RE-Source Award at www.swissre.com/resource
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