There are currently existing water markets in such diverse places as the southwestern United States, South Africa, Chile and Australia. For the most part, these markets concern water licenses and rights. In addition, the Canadian Province of Alberta, for example, in 2006 imposed a moratorium on water licenses in the arid South Saskatchewan River basin, which created a ‘market’ for licenses.

Aqua-Index will attempt to take water as a financial asset to the next level by creating a market in which several asset types such as tokens acting as warehouse receipts and cash settled water futures may be bought, sold and traded as any other commodity. The Company recognizes that the tension between keeping water ‘free’ for those who need it and the good pricing of water to encourage conservation is a matter to be overcome. Aqua-Index believes, however, that once such trading commences its value for the latter will come to be broadly recognized.

The following quotes support the concept of trading water as a financial instrument:

“Water promises to be to the 21st century
what oil was to the 20th century: The precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations.”
–  Fortune, May 2000

“Only by accepting water as a tradable
commodity will sensible decisions be possible.”
–  The Economist, 1992

General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS – treaty of the WTO) – A corner
stone of which is to aim to turn water
into a global commodity.

“(On) free and open markets, people could then realize the value of water and water shifted to highest productive use.”
– Tom Rooney, CEO Waterfind, June 2014

“Getting the price right for water can be an important policy element for managing this essential natural resource and protecting access for the poor.”
– IMF Report on Managing Water Challenges, June 2015

“Economists like the idea of trading [commodities] freely. The process increases economic efficiency.”
– Professor John Reilly, Center for Environmental Policy Research at MIT Sloan School of Management