Report on the findings of Phase One of the UNESCO-WWAP Water Scenarios Project to 2050. The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is undertaking a project that will explore alternative futures of the world?s water and its use to 2050. More than 10 years have passed since the last set of global water scenarios was developed under the sponsorship of the World Water Council, during preparation of the World Water Vision (Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000). Since then, technology and socio-economic conditions in the world have altered dramatically, both within and outside the water sector, and change continues to accelerate. New policy initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have also since emerged. Scenarios being developed in other sectors provide new links to explore, and new tools have become available to develop stronger scenarios reinforced by analysis through models at the national and subnational levels.