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The Challenge
 Only 3% of water on earth is freshwater, about 2/3 of this amount is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The world faces considerable challenges in managing this amount equitably for a growing world population.
The IUCN Water Programme seeks to bring together its extensive network of members, scientific commissions, government and private sector partners to sustainably develop solutions and initiatives to preserve our water resources.
IUCN's Response
Responding to the need to protect and conserve our water resources, IUCN formed the Water Programme in 1985. Since its inception, the Water Programme has been working across the world, mainly focusing on the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, and Asia. These programmes have covered multiple areas such as integrated water resource management, environmental flows, water economics, watershed ecosystems, as well as river bank rehabilitation, and the effects of climate change on global water supply and distribution.
IUCN’s Water Programme contributes towards the conservation of water biodiversity by promoting, influencing and catalyzing sustainable uses and equitable sharing of resources, as well as protecting ecosystems. In order to attain these goals, the water programme is focusing on the following objectives:
- Further development and implementation of a focused Union-wide Water Programme
- Establishment of an active network of Members, Commissions, individuals and Institutions to implement the Programme
- Influencing global debate and decisions on conservation and sustainable use of water resources
- Establishment of partnerships through the implementation of joint activities on water conservation (eg. the Head of IUCN’s Water Programme also sits on the Board of Governors of the World Water Council – WWC)
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