What Is Blue Davos And Why Is 2026 The ‘Year of Water’? All You Need To Know

Last Updated:January 19, 2026, 19:02 IST

The WEF will highlight water ecosystems, the global water cycle, and the “blue economy” (oceans, fisheries, freshwater systems) as a key area for global cooperation at Davos

Blue Davos refers to a special focus on water — especially oceans, freshwater, and water-related systems — at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The WEF, from January 19 to 23, will highlight water ecosystems, the global water cycle, and the “blue economy" (oceans, fisheries, freshwater systems) as a key area for global cooperation at Davos. Sessions and initiatives under Blue Davos will explore how water affects climate resilience, food security, trade, and communities worldwide.

The water crisis in numbers

The out of balance water cycle impacts every sector, economy, and person.

1bn People lack access to properly managed drinking water

4bn People lack safely managed sanitation

75% live in 101 countries that have been losing freshwater for 22 years

2/3 river basins either exceeded or fell short of discharge levels in 2024

450Gt of ice lost from glaciers each year

½ the world’s large lakes have lost the ability to recover

4 ‘mega-drying’ regions have emerged in the Northern Hemisphere

31% of global GDP will be exposed to high water stress by 2050

1 child dies every two minutes from water-related diseases

≈$7tn is needed for global infrastructure, including water, to meet the SDGs

Sources: Unicef; ScienceAdvances; UNESCO; ScienceAdvances; Water.org; Unicef; WMO; Geophysical Research Letters; WRI; PwC

Why is 2026 the Year of Water?

2026 is being referred to as a ‘Year of Water’ in global policy and sustainability conversations largely because water issues are being put at the center of major international action and attention throughout the year — especially linked to climate, development, and global cooperation.2026 culminates in the United Nations 3rd World Water Conference (Dec 2-4, hosted by the UAE), the first in nearly 50 years. This conference is intended as a global reset to drive political commitment and action on water — and it’s part of why leaders are calling 2026 a “Year of Water."2026 World Water Day (March 22) will highlight the importance of water for sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and climate resilience. The UN’s World Water Development Report for 2026 emphasizes equitable access and practical solutions — signaling that this year is pivotal for global water action.

What will be done in Davos?

The World Economic Forum is focusing on three key topic areas to protect freshwater: fit-for-purpose finance; basin-level partnerships; and innovation. The Forum’s Annual Meeting 2026 will build on this momentum, convening leaders to spur progress across three critical dimensions: freshwater access and management, blue food security and ocean protection.

The sessions will focus on:

Water in the balance: Water is undergoing a paradigm shift, from being seen as a basic utility to a foundation of global stability. Nearly 70% of climate impacts are tied to how this resource is managed, influencing everything from rising seas and prolonged droughts to disputes over shared waterways and the trade routes they support. As these pressures intensify and new solutions emerge, how can societies turn this challenge into an opportunity for a more secure and prosperous water future?

Velocity of the Blue Economy: The blue economy is fast becoming one of the world’s most powerful engines for sustainable growth, set to be worth over $3 trillion a year by 2030. From tourism to renewable energy to a potential enabler of global trade, how is the ocean’s ever-increasing importance to economies and people changing?

Water Resilience Challenge Winners: The Water Resilience Challenge, led by UpLink in partnership with HCL Group and the World Economic Forum’s Food and Water Initiative, identifies and supports early-stage solutions that strengthen water resilience across infrastructure, industry, agriculture and urban systems. Through a global call for application, ten winning innovators have been selected as UpLink Ventures, also known as Aquapreneurs. Alongside global visibility, the winners are awarded non-dilutive funding, alongside access to a global ecosystem of investors, corporates and public-sector partners to support deployment and scale. The winners of the Water Resilience Challenge will be officially announced during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos at the Make Water, Differently hub session, marking a milestone moment for early-stage water innovation on the global stage.

Blue food innovation hub: With the support of UK DEFRA, the Forum is supporting the development of a Food Innovation Hub on Blue Foods in Ghana to demonstrate country-led transformation. Ghana’s sector is valued at roughly 600 million dollars and is growing six times faster than the national economy. The Hub’s ambition is to strengthen skills, improve standards and traceability and accelerate adoption of innovations in feed, genetics, processing, cold chain and fish health, creating a model that can inform regional pathways across Africa.

White paper: Investing in Blue Foods: Innovation and Partnerships — This white paper provides a global assessment of blue food systems, including fisheries, aquaculture, seaweed and aquatic value chains, with a focused deep dive on Africa. It articulates the economic, nutrition, climate and livelihood case for responsibly scaling blue foods, maps key innovation opportunities across the value chain, and identifies the policy, investment and partnership enablers needed to drive inclusive growth.

Launch: ACT for the Ocean and accompanying report, Financing the Ocean. Against this backdrop, the Forum is launching Accelerating Critical Transitions (ACT Ocean), an initiative building on the Forum’s foundational work and established communities in the ocean space. ACT Ocean aims to catalyze industry-led transitions across key ocean sectors and their supply chains, while fostering cross-sector collaboration to help move from fragmented efforts toward clearer priorities and scalable, real-world delivery.

Briefing paper: The Ocean Economy Imperative: Defining Value, Managing Risk and Mobilizing Investment briefing paper calls for action to unlock the ocean’s potential as a driver of economic resilience and long-term value, emphasizing collaboration and decision-making today to shape a sustainable future.

Report: As the first product for fit-for-purpose finance workstream, the Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap: A Playbook amplifies the voice of the global water industry within the World Economic Forum ecosystem. The report aims at sizing the global water infrastructure gap and assesses its socio-economic impacts in order to accelerate equity, resilience, circularity and innovation in the lead-up to the UN Water Conference.

Other key commitments: These launches follow a series of key commitments made by the World Economic Forum and key collaborators earlier this January, including: a special letter of intent between Water.org and the World Economic Forum to explore innovative, non-profit solutions to drive fit-for-purpose water resilience work and access; a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CEO Water Mandate (special initiative established by the UN Secretary General and the UN Global Compact) seeking to mobilize business leadership and collective action in support of sustainable water stewardship focusing on basin-level work; a MOU with the government of the UAE (Co-host of the UN Water Conference) to strengthen public-private collaboration for the December meeting

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