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When future generations look back at this crucial era in which COP23 is taking place, those of us who are involved in collective action around the world will be judged on one quality alone: the wisdom of the decisions we are able to make. Political decisions will decide how well we manage to achieve important public policies, such as the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and the Paris Agreement that was decided just two years ago. In other words, those decisions will determine the future that Earth’s people are going to live in. The responsibility to make the right decisions is shared between all of us – and so is that future.We will all have failed the Sustainable Development Goals if more than 600 million people continue to struggle without access to an improved water source, and if 2.4 billion continue to do without improved sanitation. And we will have failed in adapting to climate change if US$45 trillion in global assets are lying exposed to the rising risks of flood and drought in 2050, a future currently projected by the OECD. All of these efforts run up against one essential element: water.The availability and sound management of water is an undeniable part of the decision-making processes that confronts us. Most of the world’s population experiences climate variability and change today. Droughts, floods, lack of safe drinking water and sanitation, the degradation of water-dependent ecosystems: these are challenges that the disciplines of water resources development and management have always faced. Yet we have never faced a situation as severe as we face now.The Fijian Presidency of COP23 is bringing the Pacific concept of talanoa to Bonn: a tradition of decision-making based on inclusive and straightforward dialogue about common goals. Talanoa is a gift from BENEDITO BRAGA, PRESIDENT, WORLD WATER COUNCILOUR WATER, OUR CLIMATE AND THE DECISIONS WE MAKE Photo Credit: Creative Commons/Astrid WestvangAbove: Fresh water is the most precious of shared resources, a fundamental that exceeds all self-interestLeft: Financing water infrastructure is as large a challenge as financing climate adaptation and mitigation054 WATER SECURITY