Re-christening the World Bank as an institution for development and environment might be stating the obvious. However, multilateral financial institutions have yet to come to terms with the changing equilibrium of economic power, a significant shift in favour of Asian emerging markets, particularly China and India, when it comes to voting rights, selecting heads of institutions and more transparent decision-making processes.

Recognising that skills and domain knowledge was more relevant than mere country of origin for leadership of global institutions is a continuing concern. Besides, what does increasing ownership of the world’s most coveted private banks by governments and institutions in Asia mean for these organisations, their management structure and decision-making processes? In the past they have habitually sermonised on prudential norms, risk management capital adequacy and oversight expertise.

Two other engaging concerns were water and food security. I participated as a panelist in the session on ‘Who is managing your water?’ It was generally agreed that the world’s supply of fresh water is under pressure. Rising water consumption, demand from a growing world population, increased industrial needs and effects of climate change are contributing to the crisis. More than 1.5 billion people lack access to clean water. The poor suffer most from water poverty and 2 million deaths take place a year from diarrhoeal diseases alone. Broadly speaking, agriculture uses 70 per cent of the world’s water supply. Therefore, the need for research and adaptation of cropping patterns that are more water economical is central to the second Green Revolution. This is particularly so because the International Food Policy Research Institute predicts that humans would draw 50 per cent more water by 2025 for non-agricultural uses.

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