Cities must grow with trees. They are essential for people’s health and quality of life and a key element for the attainment of the SDG 11: making cities inclusive, resilient, sustainable and safe.  

The destruction of the Tanjaro River ecosystem shows that all is lost when water is polluted. Its recovery is also becoming an example of the difficulties of governance in a country that has not recovered from several wars. The short film Tanjaro is Dying, finalist of the We Art Water Film Festival 5, shows the disastrous consequences of the uncontrolled growth of a city in a region that has almost no memory of peace.

The Burkinabe province of Sissili has managed to eradicate open defecation. The implementation of the CLTS method, based on the communities’ decision to abandon this practice and build their own latrines, has proven to be effective. The Foundation’s collaboration with UNICEF, started four years ago, has established the guidelines the Burkinabe government will follow in the future to rid the rest of the country of a scourge that hinders human and economic development.  

Tourism is one of the key industries for international economic recovery after the pandemic, especially for developing countries. It is also key for the sustainability of the planet. Reducing the consumption of water is a priority first step.

Myanmar’s northern regions are subject to the climate variability that monsoon Asia is experiencing. Water stress increases, disrupting the supply in places that had never experienced any shortages. The short film Everyday Needs shows the solidarity of two water vendors that donate it to those most in need.

Africa’s largest island is facing a serious humanitarian emergency. Drought and sand storms have unleashed one of the worst food crises in the history of a country with endemic deficiencies in water infrastructures and with a governance that is incapable of adequately managing the territory. The short film Where to go?, finalist at the We Art Water Film Festival 5, provides direct evidence of a crisis that threatens to kill more than a million people.  

In regions with a lack of sanitation, DEWATS provides the possibility of a nature-based, low-cost and sustainable wastewater treatment without a sewage network. In partnership with World Vision, the Foundation is implementing it in a hospital in Chengelpattu, India.

Lack of water, poor quality of parched pastures and inefficient governance underlie most ethnic and religious conflicts in the Sahel region. In the so called African “hunger belt”, it is clear that the attainment of the SDG 6 is essential to attain all other goals, especially SDG 16: peace, justice and strong institutions. An achievement that will enable the planet to envision a much better future.