F1ES 4505 - Financing Water for Sustainable Development. Recent Trends and Ways Forward.

Financing water is a decisive contribution to the SDGs (SDG 6 and several others) and to the global climate agenda (both mitigation and adaptation). The course covers latest developments and emerging trends in financing water supply and sanitation, water resources management and investments that contribute to water security (mitigation of water-related risks). It covers both developed and developing countries. It explores the roles of public finance, development finance, and a range of private sources of finance (loans and equity). It discusses the enabling conditions that favour investments that contribute to water security and sustainable development: they encompass water policy, but also policy frameworks for investment and the regulation of financing markets.

Learning Outcomes

• A robust understanding of the role of water in the global development and climate agendas
• Direct exposure to latest developments and emerging policy issues related to financing water
• Familiarity with a range of financiers (domestic and international, public and private), their role and strategies

Professional Skills

• Practical understanding of water-related risks and how they affect the economy and the finance industry
• Capacity to sketch relevant financing models for water-related investments

Pedagogical and feedback format

• News items are reviewed weekly
• Feedback on individual papers is provided in writing 2 weeks after the submission of the paper
• Feedback on the group paper is provided in 3 steps:
• written feedback on an extended outline,

ii) oral feedback during the presentation in class,

iii) written feedback on the final draft at the end of the term.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on the following basis:

• Active contribution to weekly discussions of news items relevant for the class 10%
• An individual short paper to delve into a topic discussed in class 30%
• A group paper and a presentation in class of a financing model for a water-related investment (60%).

Course workload

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester