Water is Our Future

In Andalusia in the dry region of southern Spain peoples lives have traditionally been determined by water As a scarce commodity it was known as ldquoliquid silverrdquo by the Moors Nowadays farmers scientists and conservationists are working together to save the treasure of Andalusia for the future Theyre rediscovering ancient knowledge gained over centuries and employing stateoftheart

Hardly a drop of water makes it to the estuary of the Colorado Once it reaches Mexico after its journey through the Rocky Mountains the Grand Canyon and Nevada the river is dry and has been for decades The demand for water in its catchment area is just too big But conservationists are now working to make the estuary green again Theyre persuading people along the Colorado to give some of the water

Were witnessing the comeback of a small river and an entire landscape For decades the Emscher in the Ruhr District was the most polluted river in Europe Now its being returned from an industrial sewer to a natural river system With the help of wastewater treatment plants liberated river beds and returning animal species a unique natural region is blossoming one with a very distinct industrial

The Jordan is the most important water source for Jordanians Israelis and Palestinians But intensive farming is robbing the sacred river of its water Since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 campaigners from an environmental organization have been working across all borders to rescue the River Jordan and the Dead Sea to protect nature and for peace in the region

For centuries the Dutch have tamed the sea with dikes and crisscrossed their country with canals and waterways But climate change is whipping up storms and raising the sea level The Netherlands is now seeking a new pact with water to protect the lowlying country Theyre using stateoftheart technologies and the power of nature to systematically make space for the water elsewhere