Leading water experts and policymakers gathered in Hong Kong on Tuesday for the International Water Pioneers Summit, urging greater investment and accessibility in water technology to address the growing global crisis.

Dragan Savic, a hydroinformatics professor from the University of Exeter in Britain, highlighted a key challenge: the slow financial returns on water technology investments, which can take 10 to 20 years to become profitable.

“Who is investing in something that takes 10 to 20 years to become profitable?”, he asked during a panel discussion. Savic called for a revamped business model to attract more funding into the sector.

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Li Yuanyuan, president of the International Water Resources Association, said that advanced water solutions must be affordable and user-friendly to have a real-world impact. “High-tech innovations often remain a ‘black box’ for end-users. We must simplify these technologies to encourage widespread adoption,” he said.

The summit brought together 14 global leaders, including Peter Nobel, chairman of the Nobel Sustainability Trust, who showcased breakthroughs in ultrapure water systems, and Ma Jun, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician, who discussed low-carbon water solutions. Other speakers, such as Kate Medlicott, who leads a team studying sanitation and wastewater at the World Health Organization (WHO), and David Cunliffe, a water quality adviser at Australian local authorities, addressed drinking water safety and sanitation challenges.

A dedicated panel explored water security under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – an international infrastructure collaboration framework initiated by China, featuring experts from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Chinese mainland.

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The event also examined Hong Kong’s water future, with scholars and Guangdong provincial officials discussing protection measures for the Dongjiang water supply and smart water innovations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Contact the writer at lilei@chinadailyhk.com.cn