Photo: IUCN
IUCN Water Programme Publications
IUCN Water works towards unlocking the potential for healthy river basins to build climate resilience and to sustain ecosystems and livelihoods.
Water is where all life begins: we rely on it to grow our food, produce our goods and generate our energy. There is no substitute for water— every living thing depends on it. And yet lack of water has become one of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Only 3% of the earth’s water is freshwater, and about 2/3 of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. We have long over-stretched this precious resource. The world faces considerable challenges in equitably managing the freshwater available for a growing population as we try to halt biodiversity loss and manage the impacts of climate change.
