Level of Water Stress (OI2799)

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.