100 water-stressed basins with positive water impact
3 billion people impacted
300 million lives changed with safe water or sanitation
Unite for Water Resilience Where It Matters Most
Across the globe, rivers are running dry, aquifers are shrinking, and many communities still lack reliable access to WASH services (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene). These challenges aren’t confined to one region or border — they ripple across economies, societies, and ecosystems. To address them, the CEO Water Mandate has designated the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC) as its leadership initiative for collective action.
In consultation with partners, the WRC has identified the 100 Priority Basins where water stress, business risk, and social need intersect and where collective action is most urgent and impactful.
No single company, government, or community can solve these crises alone. But together, we can change the narrative. Whether you operate in these basins today or may in the future, your voice and participation are critical. Together, we can mobilize a global community of businesses, governments, and civil society to strengthen water security in these vulnerable regions.
Why the 100 Priority Basins?
The 100 Priority Basins are more than points on a map and each basin has its own story. These basins support communities with an already limited access to clean WASH services, local economies, and farms facing supply chain disruptions. Each priority basin represents an area of:
- High water risk where scarcity or pollution threatens both communities and economies.
- Shared responsibility where no stakeholder can make a difference alone, but where collaboration has extraordinary potential.
- Opportunities for resilience where solutions exist and can be scaled for positive impact.
These basins are not static; they evolve as conditions shift. Much like the world we live in, they are living systems, and they require living solutions.
The Movement Is Growing
The world’s water challenges are urgent. But they are also solvable—if we act together, and if we act now. Dozens of companies, NGOs, and governments are already stepping up. Together, they form a global network committed to water security by 2030.
Now, it’s your turn. Step Up in Priority Basins to Impact the Most Lives
–
Get Involved in a Collaborative!
The Rio Grande (known as Río Bravo in Mexico) is one of North America’s most significant transboundary river systems, weaving together geography, ecology, and culture across two nations. It spans nearly 1,900 miles (~3,000 km) making it the 4th longest river in North America. Originating high in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado in the US, the river flows through the US states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas and continues through the Mexico states of Durango, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.
The Rio Bravo Rio Grande Water Action Collaborative aims to address the urgent water challenges facing the region by creating a multi-stakeholder collaborative platform for corporates, government, and civil society to engage in collective action through engagement and capacity building, research and innovation, benefit sharing and practical learning, and investments in nature-based solutions.
|
The Krishna and Cauvery River Basins are two of the most important river systems in southern India, supporting millions of people through agriculture, industry, and water supply.
|
The Mississippi River Basin faces urgent and complex water challenges: polluted runoff, groundwater depletion, climate-driven floods and droughts, and inequitable access to clean water. These issues not only threaten ecosystems and communities—but also put long-term business operations and supply chains at risk.
The Mississippi River Water Action Collaborative (MRWAC) is your opportunity to be part of the solution. We are building a basin-wide coalition to implement high-impact, shovel-ready water stewardship projects that deliver measurable benefits to people, nature, and the economy.
With particular focus in Maharashtra, The Godavari Initiative (TGI) represents the first phase of a full-basin vision for the Godavari Basin to address the urgent water challenges facing the region. The initiative coordinates a multi-stakeholder collaborative platform for corporates, government, and civil society to meaningfully engage in collective action through investments in various water security projects and nature-based solutions that are monitored to reflect basin-level impact.
How to Get Involved
—
Explore the 100 Basins
Register your organization on the Water Action Hub and explore opportunities where water risk, business continuity, and community needs intersect.
Input your Basins of Interest
Map your basins of interest to notify the CEO Water Mandate where you’d like to engage. By mapping your footprint, you’ll discover where partnerships can create the greatest impact.
–
–
Choose your Pathway
Explore different initiatives and collaborative models to leverage your company’s resources and drive measurable impact.
If you have any questions, please contact ceowatermandate@unglobalcompact.org
