Water is Our Future

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.

In Andalusia, in the dry region of southern Spain, people’s lives have traditionally been determined by water – a scarce commodity, known as “liquid silver” by the Moors. Nowadays, farmers, scientists and conservationists are working together to save the treasure of Andalusia for the future.

We’re 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 it’s being returned from an industrial sewer to a natural river system.

For centuries the Dutch have tamed the sea with dykes and criss-crossed 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 in order to protect the low-lying country.

The Jordan is the most important source of water 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.