“We need to create a blue renaissance,” stated J. Carl Ganter, founder of Circle of Blue, during his keynote address, "The Challenge of the Century: Water," at the 2024 Global Wellness Summit (GWS).

Ganter urged delegates to lead the movement in creating a new narrative to advance the conversation around water and safeguarding its future.

Calling water the “miracle molecule”, Ganter emphasised the intrinsic connection between humanity, water and the planet. He reflected on the growing global water crises and urged delegates to reassess how the wellness industry can help “design the future of water”.

He illustrated the severity of the crisis by providing real-life examples of how millions of people worldwide lack access to water and sanitation, and how numerous cities are facing "Day Zero," a point at which limited water supplies will impact hundreds of millions of people.

Ganter's mission was to call on the wellness industry to lead the charge and champion the importance of safeguarding water through a combination of leadership, education, story-telling and innovation.

He feels the wellness industry can help create a "compass and a map" to a sustainable future and a "new operating system for fresh water".

“Our water is unwell, and we’re sleepwalking into an unchecked and cascading global water crisis. If climate change is the shark, water is its teeth.”

Water is the sixth of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at improving our world, but Ganter emphasised that all 17 SDGs are at serious risk if the water crisis is not prioritized as a matter of urgency.

“We need to demand change because the future is here, and the risks are real. This will be a collaborative effort; we must empower one another and make hope visible.”

More about J Carl Ganter

J Carl Ganter is a journalist and the founder Circle of Blue – the internationally recognised centre for original reporting and research on water resource issues.