Level of baseline water stress on land directly or indirectly managed by the organization as of the end of the reporting period.
Choose all that apply:
Organizations should footnote all assumptions used, including which tools or methodologies were used to assess the level of water stress.
This metric is intended to capture the level of baseline water stress on land managed by the organization.
Climate change and water scarcity are inextricably linked and self-reinforcing. Biodiversity and much of the global population face water shortages due to drying out of habitats, leading to drinking water shortages, salinization, and failed harvests. Knowledge of water stress levels can guide organizations’ design and focus of sustainable water management plans, including irrigation methods, urban planning, and wastewater reuse.
Organizations may use tools such as the Water Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas (https://www.wri.org/aqueduct) or WWF–DEG's Water Risk Filter (http://waterriskfilter.panda.org/) to find data on and describe water stress on directly or indirectly managed land. Remote sensing data are also a valuable source of information on water stress and its impact on ecosystems anywhere in the world; such data are often available at small spatial scale, if needed.
This metric may help describe the WHO dimension of impact, which details which stakeholders the investment or enterprise aims to reach with the outcome. This metric may also help clarify how underserved they were prior to the investment. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, refer to the IRIS+ guidance document: IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact. No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.
June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)
Immaterial change. Minor revision to usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
New metric. Level of Water Stress (OI2799) was developed via the IRIS+ Sustainable Water Management Expert Subgroup.
IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets
To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).