Supported by LGT Venture Philanthropy
Nature - like forests, wetlands, grasslands, and rivers - plays a crucial role in ensuring we have enough clean water. Less than 3% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and most of it is out of reach. Only 0.3% of this freshwater is in liquid form on the surface. Unlike energy, where there are many alternatives, there's no substitute for water, and we can't make more of it. Water is finite and essential for life.
Sadly, almost half of the world's drinking water sources are severely degraded, which affects how much, how clean, and when water reaches communities and cities. By 2025, nearly 70% of people globally will be living in areas with limited water, according to the UN. Population growth, climate change, and poor planning make this problem worse, leaving many communities at risk of water shortages and pollution. Cities like Chennai, Sao Paulo, and Cape Town already struggle with water scarcity, and the lack of proper solutions is worsening the global water crisis.
We need to protect the natural areas that supply our freshwater. Organizing efforts to safeguard these watersheds is complex and requires substantial expertise. Many local groups address parts of the problem, but there's no single entity that combines all necessary components - from scientific research and economic models to community engagement – to develop holistic watershed protection programs that are then implemented and scaled by local partners.
To tackle this, global environmental organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and management consultancy Pegasys, supported by LGT Venture Philanthropy and other donors, created “Nature for Water” (N4W). This innovative facility brings together science-based evidence, cutting-edge monitoring and evaluation, and pools knowledge, resources, and capacity to guide and support local partners in delivering Nature-based Solutions programs around the world.
TNC envisions a world where investing in nature, or Nature-based Solutions (NbS), is a key part of fighting climate change. These solutions are proven to deliver cost-effective, measurable benefits to people and nature, especially those most vulnerable to climate impacts. That’s why TNC works with communities, governments, and the private sector globally to create fair, nature-positive solutions that also improve food and water security, governance, and reduce poverty.
NbS can help communities become more resilient to climate impacts. For instance, healthy coral reefs can absorb 97% of a wave’s energy, protecting shores from storms. Combining NbS with other solutions like infrastructure and early warning systems creates strong, effective plans for dealing with floods and droughts.
Nature for Water aims to expand NbS in critical water areas worldwide, addressing urgent water security challenges and supporting climate adaptation for over two million people by 2030. Launched in 2022, this partnership has already August 2024 supported more than 30 watershed programs, impacting many people and protecting large areas of land and water. Building on the success, N4W seeks to improve the management of 4,000 km of rivers, 8,000 hectares of wetlands, and 275,000 hectares of land by 2030.
N4W organizes its efforts in four main service areas to effectively partner with local programs and mainstream the use of Nature-based Solutions across the $800bn+ water sector:
Ghana: The team is partnering with Ghana’s Water Resources Commission and the Ghana Water Company to improve water quality in the Black Volta River basin, a transboundary system connecting two of Ghana’s major national parks but threatened by heavy land use change and agricultural intensification, leading to severe water quality concerns. These partners are eager to use work with Nature for Water to consider a broader roll-out of NbS, funded by a new national water levy.
United States: Nature for Water is working with Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, which is responsible for delivering water, sanitation, and flood management to 1.1 million people in 28 communities across greater Milwaukee. The N4W team is designing its Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program, a $100 million NbS investment portfolio across 4,000 acres of wetland restoration and 8,000 acres of reforestation to improve water quality and reduce flood risk, while at the same time driving environmental justice outcomes.
South Africa: In 2018, Cape Town faced "Day Zero", the day the city would run out of fresh water, and was looking for solutions. Scientific research done by TNC showed that non-native trees such as pine trees in Cape Town’s water catchment areas were responsible for using an equivalent of two to three months of Cape Town's annual water consumption Economic modeling showed that the next-best available technical solution of reverse osmosis using diesel fuel would be 10x more expensive than the option of using nature.
The Greater Cape Town Water Fund was established and brings together private and public sector stakeholders and local communities to promote water conservation, create jobs, and enhance the region’s biodiversity. Focusing on restoring natural infrastructure, such as removing invasive plants from critical sub-catchment areas, the Fund aims to improve water supply to key dams that serve Cape Town.
As part of this work, a coalition of partners - including TNC, various government departments, and private organizations - to evaluate and implement large scale NbS. Nature for Water helped in the legal registration of the Fund, establishing itsgovernance structure, creating operational protocols, and developing budgeting tools to ensure the sustainable management and restoration of these critical water catchments. Since this early success in Cape Town, the facility is supporting more than 19 local watershed management programs across Africa.
LGT Venture Philanthropy (LGT VP) is a charitable foundation started in 2007. With teams in Switzerland, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India, the foundation aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged people, support healthy ecosystems, and build strong, inclusive communities. It does this by strengthening the capabilities of local partner organizations through flexible, long-term core funding and by building partnerships that encourage collaboration and collective impact. These efforts directly contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As part of its environment strategy to "regenerate ecosystems", LGT VP is always looking for local organizations and approaches that can be scaled up to make a bigger impact. Although there are many interesting environmental projects, only a few are designed to grow to a larger scale.
Over the past 20 years, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has shown the success of local water funds, but designing these programs is complicated and requires substantial expertise. LGT VP partnered with TNC to find ways to speed up the rollout of these water funds – leading to the launch of the N4W facility. The facility is built to provide the gold standard in technical assistance for Nature-based Solutions to help local champions ideate, design and launch watershed investment programs.
LGT VP is proud to have provided core funding to launch this facility and support its growth across Africa and India. Since its inception, N4W has supported over 30 watershed programs in 20 countries and benefited 230,000 people. Apart from working closely with TNC, one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, supporting N4W is an effective way for LGT VP to contribute to protecting nature while also improving livelihoods.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, TNC creates innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. TNC is tackling climate change, protecting lands, waters, and oceans at an unprecedented scale, and providing food and water sustainably. Working in more than 70 countries and territories, TNC uses a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. Learn more at nature.org.