Water

Only 3% of the earth’s water is freshwater; about two-thirds of it is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps and we have long over-stretched this precious resource.

 

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Water is the source of all life and
needs to be managed carefully

 

for people

+ 50 %

increase in global water demand by 2030

for nature

- 80%

decline in freshwater biodiversity since 1970

for security

90%

of all natural disasters are water-related

How we engage

Our work focuses on water governance that integrates the needs of people and nature, the implementation of sustainable water resource management to secure water-related ecosystem services and conserve freshwater biodiversity, and support increased investment in ecosystems as natural water infrastructure. 

 

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  • 9th World Water Forum logo Photo: ©World Water Council
    In the spotlight:

    9th World Water Forum

    The World Water Forum is the world's largest event on water, taking place from 20 to 25 March 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. This 2022 edition will be the Forum of responses with a central tenet on "Water security for peace and development."

     

    Organised every three years by the World Water Council in partnership with a host country, the 9th Forum will be the first of its kind to be hosted in sub-Saharan Africa.

     

  • IKEA and IUCN announcement Photo: Shutterstock
    In the spotlight:

    IKEA Foundation & IUCN: Land Health

    Unsustainable agricultural practices can be devastating for our land, biodiversity and climate. The IKEA Foundation and IUCN have joined a partnership to help accelerate the transition to sustainable agriculture by improving land health.

     

     

     

     

    #SustainableAgriculture #LandHealth 

  • World Wetlands Day 2022 Photo: Ramsar
    In the spotlight:

    World Wetlands Day 2022

    A call to take action for wetlands is the focus of this year’s #WorldWetlandsDay campaign. An appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save the world’s wetlands from disappearing and to restore those we have degraded.

     

    Wetlands Action for People and Nature

    #ActForWetlands

  • Logo Water Pavilion COP26 Photo: ©Water Pavilion COP26
    In the spotlight:

    Water & Climate Pavilion at COP26

    On the road to COP26 in Glasgow, IUCN along with SIWI, AGWA, CDP, and GWP are leading a historic effort to mobilize the water community and partners in the global climate action community to debut a first-ever Water & Climate Pavilion at the COP. 

     

     

    #Water4Climate #COP26 #ClimateAction

  • IUCN Congress Photo: IUCN
    In the spotlight:

    Water at the IUCN Congress

    For the first time, freshwater was featured as its own thematic focus at the IUCN Congress. Ensuring adequate quality, availability and accessibility of water is vital for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socio-economic development, and contributing to peace, security, and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

     

    #IUCNCongress #ForNature

News

  • Save Soil Movement event_UN Geneva 5 April 2022 Photo: ©IUCN/Claire Warmenbol

    The movement gaining momentum: Save Soil

    06.04.2022

    Save Soil is a global movement launched by Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru to address land degradation and advocate for healthy soil. The initiative was presented on 5 April at the United Nations in Geneva by the Isha Foundation and supported by ...

  • People Gender mission Bhitarkanika Conservation Area, India Photo: IUCN / Remco van Merm

    A Union for inclusive environmental action: a new IUCN Centre for Society and Governance

    30.03.2022

    IUCN has put in place a new organisational structure following key decisions at the 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille. This includes the creation of a new Centre for Society and Governance, which places people at the heart of nature...

  • IUCN at the 9th World Water Forum, Dakar, Senegal Photo: ©IUCN/Félicité Mangang

    IUCN at the 9th World Water Forum

    29.03.2022

    The 9th World Water Forum took place in Dakar, Senegal from 21 to 26 March 2022. The Forum is organised every three years yet –like many others- the conference was delayed by a year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The conference did maintain the...

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Learn more

Sugarcane grower, SUSTAIN Initiative, Tanzania Photo: Maria Ana Borges

SUSTAIN 2014-2019

The Sustainability and Inclusion Strategy for Growth Corridors in Africa was created to implement climate-resilient landscape development in Tanzania and Mozambique and, ultimately, to support the transition from business-as-usual to economic trajectories that combine growth with...
Cover: Women as change-makers Photo: ©IUCN Water

New report

Women as change-makers in the governance of shared waters

 

Peat bog on the Isle of Skye, Scotland with the Cuillin mountain range in the background Photo: ©Shutterstock/Helen Hotson

Water for Climate Impact Programme

The Water for Climate Impact Programme aims to catalyse investment into aquatic ecosystems, particularly peatlands, wetlands and coastal ecosystems. To help secure capital* for the new programme, IUCN is looking to identify a pipeline of bankable projects that contribute to the protection...
Wise Up Photo: © shutterstock Vladimir

WISE-UP to Climate

WISE-UP or 'Water Infrastructure Solutions from Ecosystem Services Underpinning Climate Resilient Policies and Programmes'

 

Quick reads

Aimed at policy-makers and journalists, IUCN Issues Briefs provide key information on selected issues in a two-pager format.

Gender-based violence and the environment - an IUCN Issues Brief Photo: IUCN

Gender-based violence and the environment

Evidence shows that there are direct links between environmental pressures and gender-based violence, and that the degradation of nature, competition over increasingly scarce resources and...
thumbnail_iucn_issues_cc_peatlands Photo: thumbnail_iucn_issues_cc_peatlands

Peatlands and climate change

Peatlands are a type of wetland which occur in almost every country and are known to cover at least 3% of global land surface. The term ‘peatland’ refers to the peat soil and the wetland habitats...
Thumbnail_CC and Water issues brief Photo: IUCN

Water and climate change

Water and weather, the delicate balance between evaporation and precipitation, is the primary cycle through which climate change is felt. As our climate changes, droughts, floods, melting glaciers,...
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