SEI researchers apply a range of economic methods to explore the value of water – in economic and social terms – to enable more sustainable and equitable water plans that foster cooperation across sectors and across boundaries.
2010–2025
Current water management practices have failed to achieve sustainable water for all and, at times, reinforce the imbalance of power between water users. Conflict around water often takes place quietly: more powerful actors control – either politically or economically – who gets water and when, while less powerful actors lack the ability to motivate alternative or more equitable access to water. There are many reasons for these inequities, but they often relate to misunderstandings around the value of water and its role in collective water, energy, ecosystem and food security.
The SEI US Program on Water for Ecosystems and Livelihoods uses both macroeconomic and microeconomic methods to explore a more holistic understanding of the value of water that can address both sustainability and inequities.
SEI brief / WEAP and LEAP tools can help governments align their mitigation and adaptation strategies to maximize their limited climate finance in water and energy systems.
13 November 2025 / About Adaptation, Energy access and Finance
SEI brief / WEAP is a tool for policymakers and stakeholders to assess climate impacts on water systems, explore adaptation options, and measure water conservation.
12 November 2025 / About Adaptation, Food and agriculture, Planning and modelling and Water resources
Other publication / Cooperation in the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus among countries sharing the Syr Darya River Basin can improve local livelihoods.
7 June 2023 / About Business, Climate policy, Ecosystems, Food and agriculture, Geopolitics, Planning and modelling, Public policy and Water-energy-food nexus
SEI brief / SEI experts analyse how water efficiency and storage methods can help Rwanda meet its sustainable development and economic growth goals.
21 March 2023 / About Adaptation, Climate policy, Food and agriculture, Planning and modelling, Public policy, Sustainable lifestyles, Water resources and Water-energy-food nexus
Journal article / This study analyses how managed aquifer recharge might affect irrigated agriculture in California's Kings Groundwater Basin during drought.
28 May 2022 / About Adaptation, Climate policy, Climate services, Disaster risk, Food and agriculture, Mitigation, Planning and modelling, Public policy, Water resources and Water-energy-food nexus
Other publication / International financing institutions must learn from past mistakes in agricultural water investment and direct their money to key promising approaches.
1 December 2021 / About Adaptation, Disaster risk, Ecosystems, Finance, Food and agriculture, Mitigation, Sustainable Development Goals, Water resources and Water-energy-food nexus
Journal article
2 November 2016 / About Adaptation and Water resources
Project / Experts at SEI US and Argentina's National University of Comahue track the environmental threats fracking wells pose in the Vaca Muerta region.
2022 - 2025 / About Fossil fuels, Pollution and Water resources
Project / SEI and partners developed a tool to collect water quality and supply data across the seven main watersheds of Central America's Upper Lempa River Basin.
2023 - 2025 / About Adaptation, Planning and modelling, Public policy, Sanitation and Water resources
Project / By showing the benefits of cooperation across national and sector boundaries, MYWAS opens the possibility of dialogues in contentious conflicts around water.
2011 - 2024 / About Planning and modelling, Water resources and Water-energy-food nexus
Project / SEI worked with USAID to strengthen water security and foster cooperation among five countries in Central Asia.
2020 - 2025 / About Water resources and Water-energy-food nexus
Project / SEI researchers used WEAP software to run water supply scenarios in Rwanda to analyse where and when shortages might occur and their economic impact.
2021 - 2022 / About Adaptation, Business, Finance, Food and agriculture, Participation, Planning and modelling, Public policy and Water resources
Tool / The Water Evaluation and Adaptation Planning tool (WEAP) provides a comprehensive and user-friendly framework for policy analysis in water resources planning.
About Planning and modelling and Water resources
The water program of SEI US drives innovation in water management by developing, using, and transferring planning tools and participatory processes.
Other publication / This report explores the effectiveness of different methods to implement source water protection in cities in low- and middle-income countries.
1 December 2023 / About Adaptation, Cities, Disaster risk, Public policy and Water resources
Journal article
23 February 2017 / About Food and agriculture, Sanitation and Water resources