Why water is important

When properly managed, water can be a peacemaking platform for long lasting cooperation

Water is a growing concern in many parts of the world. Countries can improve their water resilience through transboundary water cooperation over shared waters.

Indigenous peoples are the custodians of many of the world’s most fragile and important ecosystems. They also possess invaluable knowledge about sustainability and resilience, so they have a vital role in protecting our environment.

In 2015, the global community launched the 2030 Agenda, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that should be reached by 2030. Some progress has been made, but for most of the goals, the world is not on track to meet the deadline. Water can help us do better.

A growing number of people, societies and companies are discovering the power of resilient landscapes. It is still possible to shift to more sustainable practices that recharge water, restore soil health, sequester carbon, and strengthen biodiversity – but we need to make the transformation now.

How to increase the productivity of agriculture around the world through better water management.

Groundwater is the regulator of the entire freshwater cycle, but its invisibility makes it difficult to manage and protect.

While we all depend heavily on rivers for our survival, many rivers are under constant threat from unsustainable human activities

Insufficient supply and inadequate infrastructure leaves millions of people in the world without water.

The source-to-sea approach focuses on the strong connection between what happens on land, along waterways, and in the sea.

The climate crisis is essentially a water crisis. When we treat it as such, we get new tools to mitigate climate change and adapt to consequences that are unavoidable.

Many of the most pressing challenges in the world are about water: too little, too much or too inferior. Such challenges can only be effectively addressed through adequate governance of available water resources.

More than two billion people in the world lack safely managed drinking water and twice as many lack safely managed sanitation, making WASH one of the most urgent development challenges.