ISO 17298: Biodiversity for organizations – Guidelines and Requirements, aims to provide a practical, scalable framework to help organisations assess their biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities.

With biodiversity under increasing pressure, ISO’s new standard offers an important tool to help organisations take measurable, accountable action to protect and restore biodiversity.

ISO hopes the new standard will empower organisations to strengthen operations, access nature-positive finance, and build trust with customers, regulators, and society – reducing regulatory and reputational risks and the disruption to supply chains and higher operating costs that can be associated with biodiversity loss.

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‘Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024’ provides a special focus on inequalities and finds that, while there has been progress over the past decade, billions of people still lack access to WASH services creating health risks and greater social exclusion.

The report finds that people living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, rural communities, children, and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.

Key findings include that:

• Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 (1 billion people globally) still lack access to safely managed drinking water, including 106 million who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
• 4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defaecation.
• 7 billion people still lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
• People in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services and are more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
• In fragile countries safely managed drinking water coverage is 38% lower than in other countries.
• While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, there is still a gap in service delivery. Safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50% to 60% between 2015 and 2024, with basic hygiene rising from 52% to 71%. Meanwhile, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has stagnated.
• Data from 70 countries shows that while most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change, many lack sufficient materials to change as often as needed.
• Adolescent girls aged 15-19 are less likely than adult women to participate in activities during menstruation.
• In most countries with available data, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, with many in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia spending more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
• As we approach the last five years of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, achieving the 2030 targets for ending open defaecation and universal access to WASH services will require acceleration, while universal coverage of safely managed services appears increasingly out of reach.

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‘Water Horizons 2025: Transforming Utilities for a Resilient, Net Zero Future’ is a new conference on the IWA calendar, taking place on 24-25 September in London, UK. Organised by IWA Conferences Ltd, this event will bring together global leaders in the water sector to explore the latest innovations and strategies for building resilient, sustainable water utilities, with a particular focus on opportunities for technology, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance.

“The technological opportunities for digital water are exploding but there are still challenges in taking them from research and practice through to implementation,” says Janelcy Alferes, who is R&D project leader monitoring technology and digital water, WaterKlimaatHub – VITO, Belgium, and Chair of IWA’s Specialist Group on Instrumentation, Control and Automation (ICA). “This conference will be a great platform to discuss this.”

Facilitating the digital transformation

IWA is playing an important role in this, and Water Horizons 2025 is the latest part of the Association’s drive to help water practitioners grasp the very best that digital technologies can offer to deliver sustainable, smart, efficient water systems.

“IWA is already doing a lot to facilitate this,” says Alferes. “They really recognise the value of digital solutions and how they can support many aspects of water management.” She references IWA’s impressive Digital Programme, the three editions of IWA Digital Water Summits in Bilbao, Spain, and IWA’s Specialist Groups that are promoting the use of digital solutions. She says: “There is a lot of support for really pushing the idea of finding digital solutions to improve our water systems. And there is increasing interest in finding synergies between different Specialist Groups.” As Chair of IWA’s Specialist Group on ICA, she is very conscious of the potential for IWA’s membership to come together to develop opportunities and enhance the role and power of existing and emerging technologies.

Advanced technologies

Focusing on how water utilities can future-proof their services while advancing their climate and carbon goals, Water Horizons 2025 will open with the theme of ‘Technology opportunities, digital transformation, and the regulatory horizon’. This first day of the two-day programme will explore how utilities are embracing advanced technologies – from AI and IoT to smart water networks and digital twins – to drive operational efficiency, compliance, and system resilience. The second day will build on the theme of day one, focusing on ‘Building resilient water systems and advancing net zero solutions’ shifting the focus to implementation and how utilities can apply innovation to reduce emissions and build low-carbon, circular water systems.

Alferes explains that she sees Water Horizons 2025 as an opportunity to look at the new technologies that are currently available and focus on how they can be used most effectively to improve water systems and the management of water resources in applications across drinking water, wastewater and industrial processes. “It’s about how to make use of the technology,” she explains. “I’ll cover different aspects ranging from sensors to digital twins to support tools and how to bring those tools forward to help support decision-making.”

Stakeholder engagement

Alferes also highlights the importance of collaboration between stakeholders and the need to avoid looking at water in isolation. She says: “If we are to face the challenges that we have today and those that we will have tomorrow, we really need to consider water as a part of our ecosystems, and to consider the important links between water and energy, food and agriculture. We can’t just consider water in a silo. We need to collaborate with the different stakeholders – with the water utilities, the technology providers, researchers, and the community and municipalities. It is important to take into account the different parts of the puzzle.”

Alferes says that there are still gaps that need to be bridged to enable digital water to be as effective as it can be and much of that is to do with taking research from theory into practice and facilitating cross-sector collaboration and learning. “There are still some gaps that need to be bridged,” she says. “We need efforts to be made in different directions, but I think that we are going along the right track. My interest is in helping to bridge these gaps and enabling research and innovation to be applicable in practice.”

Water Horizons 2025 provides the ideal opportunity whether you are starting out on your net zero journey or looking to network and share experiences with others building resilience into their systems to future-proof a water sector facing the challenges of climate change, urbanisation, and increasing population and consumption. The challenges may be great, but if we work smarter the rewards will be too. Join us at ‘Water Horizons 2025: Transforming Utilities for a Resilient, Net Zero Future’ to be part of this transformation.

More information

Visit https://www.waterhorizonsevents.org/home?event-key=wh2025 to find out more about ‘Water Horizons 2025: Transforming Utilities for a Resilient, Net Zero Future’.

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This is one of five recommendations from the IWC to be fast-tracked by the government – including the creation of a real-time sewage map with automatic data, giving more power to campaigners and environment groups over the clean-up of local rivers, and the creation of regional water boards with powers to clean up rivers and seas locally, and plan essential infrastructure.

In the biggest overhaul of the country’s water sector since privatisation, the new water regulator will take responsibility of water functions across those previously administered by Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority), the Environment Agency, Natural England, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, bringing the sector’s economic, environmental and drinking water regulation under one body.

The Commission’s proposals will be consulted on this autumn and form the basis of a new Water Reform Bill.

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The drinking water sector faces constant challenges of protecting public health from a growing number of existing and new water contaminants. Recent amendments in EU Drinking Water Directives, including the inclusion of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and bisphenol A (BPA), reflect the growing concern regarding the health impacts of contaminants known for their immunotoxic potential. These substances can disrupt the body’s ability to protect itself from infections and diseases and, depending on their concentrations, can pose significant risks to public health. Despite this, immunotoxicity is not yet a standard endpoint in chemical risk assessments for water quality because of limited regulatory requirements. This article emphasises the need to integrate immunotoxicity assessment into water quality assessments to enhance safety and better protect public health.

Why immunotoxicity matters
The immune system is essential for protecting the human body from infections and disease. It consists of a complex network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to defend the body against harmful substances and to remove damaged or abnormal cells.
When the immune system is impaired, the body becomes more susceptible to infections and other serious health conditions. This impairment, known as immunotoxicity, can be a result of exposure to certain chemicals that disrupt the normal functioning of the immune system. This can happen directly or indirectly.

Direct immunotoxicity occurs when a toxic substance directly damages components of the immune system (e.g., lymphatic nodes), often weakening its ability to protect the body from infections or abnormal cells, which can increase the risk of incidence of certain diseases such as cancers. Indirect immunotoxicity happens when alterations in other physiological systems (namely the nervous or hormone systems) indirectly affect the immune system (e.g., autoimmune disease induced by endocrine disruptors), disrupting its normal function. These systems work together in a complex manner to maintain a healthy immune response, and if one system is affected, it can impact the others.

Cumulative concerns
A key concern with immunotoxicity is its subtle and cumulative nature. Unlike acute health risks, the effects of immunotoxic chemicals often develop gradually, making them harder to detect early. Over time, these subtle compounding effects can lead to significant immune dysfunction. For instance, exposure to PFAS – compounds that are common in industrial discharges and detected in drinking water – have been linked to reduced vaccine effectiveness, lowered resistance to infections, and a higher risk of certain cancer types (EFSA, 2020). Similarly, bisphenol A (BPA) – widely used in plastics – is associated with endocrine disruption and an increased risk of autoimmune diseases (Chen et al., 2018).

Immunotoxicants pose an especially severe risk to vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems, particularly during critical developmental windows when the immune system is more vulnerable. These critical windows are moments when the immune system is developing specific cells or organs and establishing immune repertoires (T-cells and antibodies). Given the immune system’s vital role in maintaining overall health, immunotoxicity represents a significant public health concern. Therefore, identifying immunotoxic substances, understanding their long-term effects, and preventing their presence at harmful concentrations in drinking water and in other sources of exposure is critical to the protection of public health.

Immunotoxicity testing of contaminants
Chemical contaminants from industrial, agricultural and domestic sources are commonly present in drinking water sources. Monitoring these contaminants is essential to ensure the quality of water intended for human consumption.

Although many contaminants are regulated and anticipated by drinking water companies, others remain undetected, unquantified and toxicologically uncharacterised. This is particularly concerning for (potentially) immunotoxic contaminants, as immunotoxicity is not yet systematically considered when deriving health-based limits for chemical compounds, because of limited regulatory requirements.

While chemicals such as PFAS and BPA are increasingly recognised for their harmful effects on the immune system, many other substances are either inadequately studied during the authorisation phase or entirely overlooked in the context of water safety.
In the European Union (EU), the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) mandates comprehensive safety assessments of chemicals. However, immunotoxicity testing is not routinely required. Immunotoxicity studies under REACH are only conducted when concern-driven scientific triggers arise, meaning potential immunotoxic effects may go unassessed.

Currently, water quality health limits are primarily based on toxicological risk assessments, considering endpoints such as carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, and organ-specific damage. However, there is still an unmet need for guidelines that also address immunotoxicity and the toxicity of other sensitive organ systems, such as the brain (neurotoxicity) and the endocrine system.

While standardised testing methods exist to assess the immunotoxic properties of individual chemicals for regulatory approval, standardised methods that can be incorporated into water quality assessments are lacking. A key difficulty lies in detecting low-level chemical mixtures in water, where multiple contaminants may interact in unpredictable ways.

There is a significant gap in understanding how these mixtures might affect the immune system compared with individual substances. A major complication is determining whether changes in immune system components, such as specific cells or proteins, actually indicate harm to immune function. This challenge applies to both individual substances and mixtures of contaminants, as well as variations in factors such as age and gender, with different methodologies potentially further complicating the process.

In addition, the immune system has built-in backup mechanisms that can compensate for damage, potentially masking the effects of immunotoxicity. This makes it difficult to establish clear, standardised guidelines for identifying and interpreting immunotoxic effects, as the immune system may adapt or compensate in ways that obscure the true extent of the damage.

Assessing risk
There is a tendency to assume that health effects are unlikely to occur at the low concentrations typically found in drinking water. But this perspective overlooks the potential long-term risks associated with low-level, chronic exposure to contaminants. Even at low concentrations, chemicals in drinking water, such as disinfection by-products or environmental contaminants, can accumulate in the body over time, potentially weakening the immune system and increasing vulnerability to infections or diseases. To address these gaps, there is a pressing need for water quality monitoring and risk assessment approaches that include immunotoxicity as an endpoint.

Emerging approaches
One promising approach to immunotoxicity testing is the evaluation of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). AOPs are a framework for understanding how chemicals interact with biological systems, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes such as diseases (Nymark et al., 2021). AOPs map the sequence from a chemical’s initial interaction with the body, referred to as a molecular initiating event (MIE), to its final adverse impact on health, the adverse outcome (AO), through several intermediate key events (KEs). A single MIE can trigger a cascade of downstream KEs, which can diverge and lead to various toxicological outcomes (Spinu et al., 2019). Alternatively, multiple MIEs can converge into a single adverse outcome.

In the context of drinking water, prolonged low exposures to contaminants can lead to MIE, which may contribute to KEs, leading ultimately to AOs. For example, drinking water containing organohalogen disinfection by-products (DBPs), such as chloroform, trichloroacetic acid, and trichlorophenol, has been linked to mitochondrial toxicity (McMinn et al., 2019). The key event in this case is the excessive production of free radicals (reactive oxygen species), which can overwhelm the body’s antioxidant defences, leading to oxidative stress and associated cellular damage.

Despite this growing understanding of how contaminants trigger these molecular mechanisms, the application of AOP frameworks to immunotoxicity is still limited. New approach methodologies (NAMs), which include non-animal testing methods, such as in vitro bioassays and computational models, can play a critical role in bridging these gaps by providing the tools to assess key events within AOPs.

Operational approaches
AOPs may seem very technical and difficult to integrate into the daily operations of water quality managers. However, gaining a basic understanding of key concepts such as MIEs and KEs, which trigger adverse effects such as immunotoxicity, can be highly useful. This knowledge can help inform risk management decisions and assumptions, guiding more effective strategies for managing water quality across various environments, including drinking water, surface water, groundwater and wastewater.

Effect-based monitoring (EBM), for example, has gained recognition as a valuable approach for evaluating drinking water quality, complementary to chemical analytical approaches.
EBM refers to a set of bioanalytical tools (bioassays) that assess water quality by capturing the combined effects of the complex low-level mixture of known and unknown chemicals present in water, if they are active in the applied bioassays. This approach is particularly important given the complex mixtures of chemical contaminants found in water bodies, which traditional targeted chemical analyses may not be able to capture adequately.

Knowledge of AOPs can aid in identifying the most relevant effect-based method to detect immunotoxic or other effects of low-level chemical mixtures in water. In addition, it can support the establishment of effect-based trigger values (EBTs), which are used as benchmarks to assess potential health risks and guide regulatory decisions to ensure drinking water is safe. This enables water companies to implement more focused and efficient monitoring strategies, especially when time, budget or resource constraints are present. Prioritising bioassays based on AOPs may ensure that the most adequate bioassays provide relevant information based on the most critical indicators.

Integrating immunotoxicity into water quality monitoring
To address the limitations of conventional effect-based monitoring techniques in detecting the specific immunotoxic effects of complex mixtures of legacy and emerging contaminants, there is a pressing need to make use of immunotoxicological information of individual substances – and relevant mixtures – and consider integrating immunotoxicity testing methods into the routine evaluation of drinking water sources. The following recommendations outline a clear path forward:

Implementation of a tiered approach to testing, starting with broad screening bioassays and moving to more detailed studies on high-risk contaminants. This will help prioritise which chemicals to focus on, based on their potential to affect immune health.

Establish EBTs for chemical mixtures with immune effects. EBTs are the thresholds that indicate whether a chemical concentration requires further investigation. This will enable quicker decision-making when assessing water safety using effect-based methods.

Prioritise substances not routinely tested for immunotoxicity, from sources such as chemical industries, pharmaceuticals and microplastics, based on factors such as environmental persistence, potential for human exposure, and possible health risks.

Develop scientifically validated testing protocols for immunotoxicity aligned with both next generation risk assessment (NGRA) and water quality monitoring, to ensure that practices reflect the latest advancements in immunotoxicological science.

Further research to develop standardised immunotoxicity bioassays for drinking water.

Conclusion

Immunotoxicity is an essential, but overlooked aspect of drinking water safety and chemical safety in general. Chemicals that disrupt the immune system may not show immediate effects, but their long-term impacts can be adverse, especially for vulnerable populations.

The lack of standardised methods for detecting immunotoxicity in water emphasises a significant gap in current water quality practice, which leaves the public’s health at potential risk from contaminants via this route. While it is not yet definitively established whether immunotoxic effects from drinking water are likely or widespread, certain populations may be more susceptible to potential risks. With emerging contaminants posing new challenges, it is crucial that water utilities continue to take proactive measures to assess and mitigate risks, including those resulting from exposure to immunotoxic contaminants. Collaboration between scientific researchers and water utilities is crucial for conducting research that addresses knowledge gaps about the immunotoxic potential of emerging water contaminants.

Acknowledgement
The research presented in this article was funded by the Waterwijs collective research programme of Dutch water companies, Flemish water company De Watergroep, and the Association of Drinking Water Companies, the Netherlands (Vewin).

More information
Chen, Y., Xu, H. S., & Guo, T. L. (2018). Modulation of cytokine/chemokine production in human macrophages by bisphenol A: a comparison to analogues and interactions with genistein. Journal of Immunotoxicology, 15(1), 96-103. doi.org/10.1080/1547691x.2018.1476629

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). (2020). Scientific opinion on the risk to human health related to the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances in food. EFSA Journal, 18 (9): 6223, 391pp. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6223

McMinn, B., Duval, A. L., & Sayes, C. M. (2019). An adverse outcome pathway linking organohalogen exposure to mitochondrial disease. Journal of Toxicology, 2019, 1–24. doi.org/10.1155/2019/9246495

Nymark, P., Sachana, M., Leite, S. B., Sund, J., Krebs, C. E., Sullivan, K., Edwards, S. W., Viviani, L., Willett, C., Landesmann, B., & Wittwehr, C. (2021). Systematic organization of COVID-19 data supported by the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.638605

Spinu, N., Bal-Price, A., Cronin, M. T. D., Enoch, S. J., Madden, J. C., & Worth, A. P. (2019). Development and analysis of an adverse outcome pathway network for human neurotoxicity. Archives of Toxicology, 93(10), 2759–2772. doi.org/10.1007/s00204-019-02551-1

The authors: Sanah Majid is a scientific researcher and toxicologist, Daniel Duarte is a scientific researcher and project leader, and Tessa Pronk is a scientific researcher, all at the KWR Water Research Institute;
Corine Houtman is a toxicologist at Het Waterlaboratorium and VU University;
Insam Al Saify is a toxicologist at Waternet;
Merijn Schriks is a specialist drinking water quality toxicologist at Vitens;
Janine Ezendam is Head of the Department of Innovative Testing Strategies at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment;
Raymond Pieters is Associate Professor at Utrecht University and full Professor at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences;
Milou Dingemans is Chief Science Officer and Principal Toxicologist at KWR Water Research Institute and guest researcher at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University;
All are based in the Netherlands

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‘Inspiring’, ‘exciting’, ‘enhancing’ and ‘enlightening’ – these were some of the words used by the first cohort of IWA’s LeaP Leadership Programme for Young Water Professionals (YWPs) about their immersive retreat in the stunning Malaysian state of Sabah, in the northern part of the island of Borneo, on 19-22 November 2024.

The retreat is the centrepiece of this new programme, which will culminate in attendance at the 2026 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition (WWCE) in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. The group gathered in Sabah comprised: Bénigne Ishimwe Mugwaneza, Rwanda; Chotiwat (CJ) Jantarakasem, Thailand; Federick Pinongcos, USA; Igor Luketina, Austria; Laurence Strubbe, Switzerland; Linda Li, Canada; Matthew MacRorie, UK; Natalie Páez-Curtidor, Colombia; Oscar Timothy Balongo, Tanzania; Shivon Mehta, India; Yaw Abrampah, Ghana; and Yumeng Zhao, China. 

The retreat provided space in a rich environment for this diverse group of YWPs to stretch themselves, collaborate, share experiences, and challenge themselves and their ideas. With a location famed for its mountains, beaches, rainforest, coral reefs and abundant wildlife, much of which can be found in its parks and reserves, this was a retreat that fed the senses and called on the YWPs to adapt to an environment outside of their comfort zones.

Elevating the most talented

LeaP encourages a cohort of 12 exceptional YWPs to embark on a transformative journey to professional empowerment, helping them each to realise their full potential and expand their horizons. 

The programme provides successful candidates from diverse backgrounds and regions with the opportunity to forge robust professional networks and enhance their leadership skills over a 12-month period, through an immersive programme that provides a springboard for their careers and, with it, their personal and professional development. What makes this programme unique is that it’s not just about learning – it is about living the experience and empowering the individual to effect meaningful change. Fuelled by curiosity and courage, participants are advised to prepare to be challenged, rewarded and empowered as they elevate their strategic vision and leadership capabilities.

IWA is investing in the leaders of tomorrow

Supported by the Emerging Water Leaders Endowment Fund, the LeaP programme aims to nurture the leadership of high-potential YWPs by: 

• Transforming their leadership – empowering them to think and act globally 
• Building their confidence to inspire and influence others – accelerating their impact at a local, societal and global level 
• Providing the opportunity for them to learn how to adapt and thrive in ambiguous, complex and fast-changing environments
• Strengthening their foundations for future success by overcoming personal or professional barriers
• Raising their impact and visibility within IWA, with the potential to take on leadership roles in the Association over the coming years.

Providing structured learning, the programme consists of: a four-day retreat; four hours a month of preparation and project time; five hours a month in virtual learning, coaching or project team meetings; a virtual workshop in September 2025; and attendance at the 2026 WWCE.

Marking an important step in advancing IWA’s vision to build a deeply committed and connected group of future leaders, this innovative programme aims to accelerate the professional development and growth of the participating YWPs, promising to: 

• Stretch participants’ leadership skills, while helping to build a diverse group of Alumni IWA leaders, connected and engaged with IWA
• Combine inspirational thinking from specialist speakers and leadership experts, by providing deep personal learning through targeted topics, a powerful strengths diagnostic tool, and self-managed projects aided by challenge and support from facilitators, coaches and peers
• Encourage diversity of thought, perspectives, cultures and backgrounds to ensure that the richness of the group’s global and diverse experience is maximised.

This rich and aspirational programme is led by a Programme Committee made up of key IWA members, who will contribute to the programme by getting involved in the community sessions, working as project guides, and providing advice on the delivery of the programme.

Immersive retreat

The LeaP retreat in Sabah was a powerful four-day experience that combined radical self-inquiry, practical skills, shared learning, and meaningful conversations. Held at an eco-literacy campus set in 34 acres of natural beauty, the location featured a guest house providing communal living and powered by solar energy, and using rainwater harvested from its rooftops.

This unique retreat was relaxed and informal. Standing apart from more traditional IWA events, it provided a safe environment to explore ideas and support rich learning. A key focus of the event was on aligning ‘who you are’ with ‘how you lead’ while fostering space for growth and connection.

This began with participants reflecting on the profound notion that ‘change begins within ourselves’. These reflections culminated in setting clear intentions for the next 12 months of the programme. Participants explored pathways for personal and collective transformation, using tools such as the Logical Levels of Change (LLOC), a powerful framework for examining human experiences, and the Situation-Behaviour-Impact-Action (SBIA) Feedback Model.

Community-led engagement

On day two of the retreat, participants spent the day with leaders of the villages of Kg Kolosunan, Kg Babagon Toki and Kg Tampasak – three communities profoundly impacted by the construction of the Babagon Dam in the 1990s. 

The YWPs heard first hand how the dam submerged entire homes, displaced families and disrupted livelihoods. While the Babagon Dam now provides 57% of the state capital Kota Kinabalu’s clean water, these communities remain excluded from its supply, relying instead on traditional gravity-fed water systems.

However, this is also a story of resilience. These communities are now at the heart of Forever Sabah’s Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) pilot project, which champions the protection of the Babagon Watershed and the creation of a Babagon Catchment Water Fund. This initiative aims to compensate the communities for their environmental stewardship while fostering sustainable socioeconomic development.

This led to a workshop where the YWPs collaborated, constructing 3D models of communities in three different geographical realities, based on reflections and discussions around the following important questions: Who was missing from the picture, and is this a sustainable reality, or do things need to change? The exercise sparked deep discussions about inclusivity, equity, and the importance of holistic approaches to water management.

The day was filled with powerful conversations, emotional reflections, and inspiring stories of hope. It reminded all of the participants that water is about more than infrastructure – it’s about people, partnerships, and creating a future that leaves no one behind.

Reflecting on these activities, a key takeaway that resonated throughout the group was that leadership is about people. It’s about listening to their concerns, fostering resilient communities, and tackling challenges with an open mind.

The participants also explored what these insights mean for IWA YWPs and the broader IWA network, and joined in their commitment to raising awareness, sharing their learnings, and fostering change. The concept of the ‘Window of Tolerance’ sparked meaningful discussions. When challenges arise, many of us tend to panic or shut down. Mastering the ability to function within this ‘window’ is crucial for approaching difficult situations with clarity and balance.

The final day of the retreat marked the beginning of an exciting year ahead as participants embarked on collaborative projects designed to address critical water challenges and strengthen their leadership journey. The participants selected the following three themes on which to focus their projects:

• Pollution and Contamination Control
• Circular Economy in the Water Sector
• Achieving SDG 6.1 and SDG 6.2.

So, what’s next?

Over the course of the programme, participants will tap into the power of the IWA network, supported by the Programme Committee and project coaches, to make a tangible impact in the water sector.

Key features of the programme include:

• Coaching sessions enabling participants to discuss their strengths with experienced coaches and explore how these can propel their leadership journey
• Masterclasses focused on essential leadership topics, such as influencing with impact and leading in uncertain environments
• IWA Communities Insights sessions providing opportunities for engaging discussions with influential IWA members shaping both the Association and the water sector
• Mentoring sessions offering participants the chance to interact with mentors from within the IWA community, gaining valuable guidance and insights

Influencing with Impact Programme

On 16 January 2025, participants attended the first masterclass of the Influencing with Impact Programme. Expertly moderated by Sally Domingo-Jones and Henri Stevenson, from The Oxford Group, the session equipped LeaP’s YWPs with essential skills to master the art of influence.

The session began with an inspiring update from the first cohort, who reflected on their journeys since the retreat in Borneo. Building on their experiences, the discussion delved into the following key objectives:

• Identifying who and what they need to influence
• Recognising stakeholder personality preferences and needs
• Adapting their influencing style – one size does not fit all
• Developing soft skills to engage stakeholders effectively
• Applying these insights to real-world scenarios.

Participants also engaged in breakout discussions, exploring challenges to effective influencing and strategies for adapting their approach based on stakeholder personalities and their own strengths.

The ball is rolling!

Empowering the next generation of water leaders is at the heart of IWA’s mission, and this masterclass was a step towards shaping confident and impactful professionals. We wish them good luck and we look forward to seeing the development of this exciting new programme! 

More information

iwa-network.org/iwa-leap-leadership-programme

Emerging Water Leaders Endowment Fund

Announced at IWA’s World Water Congress & Exhibition (WWCE) held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2022, the Emerging Water Leaders Endowment Fund was launched with a generous donation of $1 million by former IWA President Glen Daigger and his wife, Patty. As an endowment, the fund aims to create a lasting legacy dedicated to supporting activities that bring about meaningful change in the lives of Young Water Professionals (YWPs).

The endowment fund has been invested, and the returns are being used in IWA’s new LeaP Leadership Programme. Officially started in November 2024, LeaP is supporting high-achieving YWPs – providing mentoring and leadership training – helping them to build their professional networks within the global water community. 

LeaP empowers YWPs to realise their full potential and make a greater impact on vital water issues. Through the programme, participants gain a strong foundation in leadership and management skills, which promises to help fast-track their professional development and benefit the water sector through their diverse experience and knowledge – gaining a breadth of expertise that will be critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Develop Goals (SDGs).

While LeaP is already transforming the careers of 12 YWPs from diverse backgrounds, it is critical that the endowment fund continues to thrive and grow. The fund provides an outstanding opportunity to invest in a sustainable, equitable and resilient water future. 

IWA is calling on everyone who can to consider making a donation. Whether your gift is large or small, your donation will be used to support IWA’s vision of creating a network of exceptional water professionals striving for a world in which water is wisely, sustainably and equitably managed. If you are interested in contributing to the fund, please see the IWA website www.iwa-network.org

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More than half the world’s population live in urban areas. Many growing towns and cities, especially in the Global South, are marked by inadequate sanitation, sewage and drainage facilities. With 3.5 billion people still lacking access to safe sanitation, most national and global sanitation drives have tended to focus on toilet construction, sewer connections and hardware. These have often ignored the second and third generation challenges of sanitation concerning water contamination, poor faecal sludge management, gender, equity and sustainability.

Yet, these challenges can also be an opportunity. Human waste is rich in water, nutrients and organic compounds, but, usually, this mostly goes down the drain. The increase of extreme weather events, water shortages, and weak infrastructure mean that ‘flush and forget’ systems are not always possible or desirable in off-grid settings. This is why the project ‘Towards Brown Gold’ sought to understand the potential for reuse of faecal waste and how marginalised communities experience sanitation in five rapidly urbanising areas across four countries: Nanded and Alleppey, India; Mekelle, Ethiopia; Wa, Ghana; and Gulariya, Nepal. The research was both inter- and trans-disciplinary, seeking to integrate the social sciences, engineering, microbiology and creative arts to understand the socio-political, technical, cultural and microbial processes and contexts of sanitation and waste processes.

A springboard for progress

Northern European countries have been piloting new approaches at increasing scale. According to the Toilet Board Coalition, the sanitation crisis can enable innovation and provide resources for a trillion-dollar global industry. In India alone, the predicted market for waste recovery and reuse is as large as $9–28 billion. 

Contextual challenges

Despite this potential, the ‘Towards Brown Gold’ project found that the challenges of resource recovery from human waste might have been underestimated. The potential for reuse was found to be limited by the combined challenges of the existing sanitation infrastructure, pervasive cultural perceptions, a lack of cross-sector collaboration, and a narrative that exaggerates the benefits of the circular sanitation economy and endorses a market driven approach to sanitation.

Moreover, for reuse efforts to be successful and perceived as relevant by communities, they need to happen in a context of high sanitation coverage or come with a wider push to ensure everybody has access to sanitation. In reality, access to safely managed sanitation services was found to be lagging across the countries studied. Progress is particularly slow among groups marginalised because of their caste, class, gender and migration history. 

Sanitation progress is often hampered by insufficient resources that are skewed towards centralised sewered systems, unclear roles and responsibilities, and poor intersectoral collaboration across water, health, urban and rural development. 

Steps to success

The policy brief from the ‘Towards Brown Gold’ research project highlights six ways decision-makers can realise the potential for resource recovery from human waste and accelerate progress towards universal, safely managed sanitation in rapidly urbanising areas:

Make safely managed sanitation a political priority

National and urban level governments need to create, reform and implement policies, strategies and regulations to ensure there is sufficient funding and resources so that everybody has access to a toilet at home, and that faecal waste is managed in a way that protects public health and the environment. Acknowledgment of the global prevalence of non-sewered systems is central to the revision of policies and plans. Particular attention should be put on reaching and involving communities and residents who are poor and marginalised by society, such as those living in informal settlements.

Facilitate inclusive sanitation planning

Urban planners and policymakers need to address the multifaceted challenges of sanitation in an inclusive way, recognising the historical and social contexts of sanitation issues, and how communities who are marginalised experience sanitation. These communities’ voices and demands must be central to the planning process, and to holding authorities and service providers to account.

Protect the rights of sanitation workers

Governments need to properly recognise the crucial roles of sanitation workers – those emptying septic tanks and pits, unblocking sewers or operating treatment plants – in keeping sanitation services running and their towns and communities clean and liveable. Recognising their work includes protecting their rights to fair wages, social security, safety at work and self-organisation (such as with unions). Sanitation efforts must always include the health, safety and dignity of sanitation workers, both formal and informal.

Cautiously promote the circular sanitation economy

Reusing treated faecal waste, such as for irrigation or as compost, has positive impacts for the economy, the environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation. This circular sanitation economy can help accelerate progress, but overselling its benefits can be counterproductive, undermining the message that public investment is critical to ensure sanitation services for all. The promotion of the circular sanitation economy should instead be: realistic about the benefits and the many challenges involved; aware of community priorities; and integrated into a wider sanitation push to close any gaps in access to toilets and to address the whole sanitation service chain.

Ground reuse efforts in the context

Those designing and leading sanitation circular economy initiatives should ensure that their efforts are grounded in local, economic, social and cultural contexts. This includes considering economic aspects such as where farmers buy compost, or whether other product types could be more profitable. This should also include social aspects such as cultural perceptions of waste, or how to effectively raise awareness of the benefits of reuse. Engaging an interdisciplinary team is an effective way of doing this, combining natural and social sciences, as well as art-based approaches to community engagement.

Reform policy to enable reuse

Decision-makers need to invest in understanding and improving the enabling environment for sanitation in general, and reuse in particular. Policies and regulations should create positive incentives to reuse and eliminate existing barriers.

Overall, there is a need for policy and political reimagination to radically consider alternative models and increase financial allocations and commitments to safely managed sanitation solutions that are sustainable and inclusive for all.

More information

washmatters.wateraid.org/publications/towards-brown-gold-challenges-opportunities-reuse-universal-sanitation-urban-areas

The authors:

Lyla Mehta is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and a Visiting Professor at Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Andrés Hueso González is senior policy analyst – sanitation at WaterAid; Alan Nicol is principal researcher at the International Water Management Institute; and Ben O’Donovan-Iland is communications and impact officer at the Institute of Development Studies

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Titled ‘Drought Impact Monitoring: Baseline Review of Practices’ and released under the banner of the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) – a joint initiative of the WMO and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) – the report presents a global overview of current drought impact monitoring practices, highlighting case studies and identifying examples of good practice and enabling environments that support effective monitoring.

The report provides operational guidelines to help countries establish or refine their drought monitoring systems and encourages cross-sector collaboration, open databases and tools to improve data accessibility, and tailored systems that can be adapted to local needs.

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The ‘2025 Snow Update Report’ published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, finds that the region experienced its third consecutive below-normal snow year in 2025, with snow persistence (the fraction of time snow is on the ground after snowfall) falling to a 23-year record low of -23.6%.

With nearly two billion people across 12 major river basins relying on seasonal snowmelt from the region, the report’s authors are calling for immediate targeted actions towards adaptive water resource management at basin-level to mitigate impacts on agriculture, hydropower generation, and other vital ecosystem services.

The report finds the most concerning declines in snow persistence impacting the Mekong (-51.9%) and Salween (-48.3%) basins, followed by the Tibetan Plateau (-29.1%), the Brahmaputra (-27.9%), Yangtze (-26.3%), and the Ganges (-24.1%) basins.

The report highlights the need for adaptive infrastructure, including seasonal storage systems, water efficiency measures, national preparedness and response plans, along with national water strategies for hydropower, agriculture, and allied sectors, and a strengthening of evidence-based decision-making and sectoral coordination.

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Since 1998, the ASCE has prepared a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s major infrastructure systems using letter grades for each category and a concise but replicable methodology to analyse all aspects of system performance.

In terms of water infrastructure, the report assesses dams (D+), drinking water (C-), inland waterways (C-), levees (D+), stormwater (D) and wastewater (D+).
This year’s report finds nearly 50% of the grades increasing for the 18 categories assessed, crediting this to recent federal investments to improve US infrastructure.
The report recommends a comprehensive agenda over the next four years to sustain investment, prioritise resilience, and advance forward-thinking policies and innovations.

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