Roads and water are generally seen as "enemies", with water responsible for most of the damage to roads, and roads being a major cause of problems such as erosion, waterlogging, flooding and dust storms.
This tension, however, can be reversed. The concept of Green Roads for Water places roads in the service of water and landscape management and climate resilience without sacrificing or diminishing their transport functions. With global investment in roads of $1–2 trillion per year, plus maintenance costs, the widespread adoption of Green Roads for Water approaches can leverage investment at a transformative scale, making road development and maintenance a vital tool for achieving climate resilience, water security and productive use of natural resources.
This World Bank report provides strategies to use roads for beneficial water management tailored to diverse landscapes and climates, including watershed areas, semiarid climates, coastal lowlands, mountainous areas and floodplains.