Water: The Most Destructive Force We Overlook

When people think of “natural disasters,” images of hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes often come to mind. Yet the most common and consistently destructive natural disaster is less dramatic in imagery but far more widespread: water. 

Floods and droughts account for more loss of life, more displacement, and more economic damage than any other hazard. Add in water quality challenges like algal blooms, salinity, and contamination, and it becomes clear why water is the central risk driver of our climate reality.

At Mazarine Climate, we believe water deserves singular focus. While others will build theses around heat, wildfire, wind, or pests and invasives, our background and conviction lead us to hyper-focus on water risk — because of both its magnitude and its underappreciated role in shaping lives, livelihoods, and economies.

Floods and Droughts: The Twin Destroyers

Flooding is the most frequent disaster globally, accounting for ~40% of all natural disasters since 2000. Entire communities can be wiped out, supply chains halted, and infrastructure destroyed. Drought, though slower-moving, can be equally devastating — crippling agriculture, draining reservoirs, and driving food insecurity. Together, these two extremes of water quantity represent the largest, most consistent threats to global stability.

Yet, paradoxically, floods and droughts are not typically included in the so-called “water industry.” That industry tends to mean water and wastewater utilities, and select industrial water treatment providers. The truth is: the water risks that matter most — flooding, drought, scarcity, and salinization — sit outside the traditional industry lens. That gap is precisely where adaptation-focused technology and investment are most urgently needed.

The Often Overlooked Quality Crisis

Water risk is not only about too much or too little. Water quality is an equally destructive force. Harmful algal blooms, nutrient runoff, and saltwater intrusion are compromising freshwater systems around the world. These risks are directly tied to public health, food security, and economic stability. They may not grab headlines like hurricanes, but their impacts are insidious and long-lasting.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are getting worse as the planet warms

Why Mazarine Climate is Focused Here

We respect that other funds will prioritize technologies to address heat, wildfires, severe wind, and PIBs (pests, invasives, and biological risks). All of these are massive issues in a warming world. But for us, water risk represents the most urgent, investable, and under-attended vertical. Our expertise and networks are strongest here, and the magnitude of risk — economic, human, and ecological — makes this focus not just logical, but essential.

Floods, droughts, and water quality degradation aren’t side notes in the climate story — they are the story. And for investors who want to make both impact and returns in climate adaptation, water risk is where the largest opportunities lie.