Groundwater saves lives and is vital to eradicating poverty in places where the only chance to drink is to go to a pond. Knowing and using their aquifers is the basis of health and development in communities without access to safe water. In Tanzania, with a simple well, we will transform the life of a village.

Two new projects in India further train women to understand the water cycle, manage water resources and maintain water supply facilities. Freed from having to fetch water, women provide crucial support that multiplies the benefits for the community and increases its resilience to climate impacts.

Obtaining data on the water status at a given time and place is crucial for effective management. New technologies make it possible to develop transboundary monitoring programs that disseminate scientific knowledge, promote a common understanding of the problems, and convince us that we can do better together.

A sustainable world must meet current human needs without compromising those of future generations. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect on what we understand by these concepts, the meaning of which varies dramatically depending on the human group to which we refer. The contrasts in access to water provide a reasonable basis for this reflection, which is essential if we are to agree on what we mean by sustainability.

A new project in Sierra Leone shows us the importance of ensuring water and sanitation in schools to reverse the impoverishment of neglected rural areas. Passing on to students the ability to manage the facilities turns them into educational agents in their communities, ensures sustainability, and gives them an empowered future.

Small-scale rainwater harvesting enables many families to drink, cook and wash when supplies fail. It is an increasingly useful resource when aquifers are polluted or depleted, and a tool for adapting to climate change in many dry and depressed areas. 

Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we had to walk several kilometers every day to get the water we need to live? The more than 150 participants in the Global 6K For Water race experienced it by running six kilometers along the Serralada de Marina in Tiana. Their goal was to raise awareness of the lack of access to water in the world and provide total sanitation to three schools in Indonesia to ensure schooling for girls and good hygiene practices for all students. 

In Nepal, only 15% of the rural population has access to a safe water source in their homes. The short film Homework, a finalist at the We Art Water Film Festival 5, shows how Sumnima, a village school student, cannot complete her homework because she has to fetch water for her family. All this in a country whose mountains make it the second most water-abundant country on Earth. Nepal is fighting to end this paradox.