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Water Development Paths, Climate Change, and Economic Growth

Dale Whittington

  • Professor of Environmental Sciences & Engineering and City & Regional Planning
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Manchester Business School (UK)

Whittington is the author of over 100 publications related to economic and public-policy issues of water-resources management in developing countries. He has been a member of the World Bank’s Blue Ribbon Panel on the Nile River, the Ganges Basin Strategic Assessment Team, the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership, and has consulted with the Asian Development Bank, US-AID, the Hopi Indian Tribe, and many other organizations.

Most water utilities in developing countries charge prices far below the real costs of service and have no cash reserves to expand services, support growth, or adapt to climate change. In this talk, Whittington reviews 100,000 years of investment and innovation along water-development paths to explain this predicament. He identifies three ancient behavioral responses that complicate our ability to improve water and sanitation services and are an obstacle to sustainable economic growth.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.