BACKGROUND

All of the water on our planet is connected to all forms of life in one way or another, as we have experienced throughout this teaching and learning resource. Two-thirds of the world’s major rivers are shared by several countries. In the past 100 years, the world population has tripled, while demand for water has increased sevenfold. Since water is essential to every aspect of life, this water crisis affects everything – from health to human rights, the environment to the economy, poverty to politics, and culture to conflict. Just as water defies political boundaries, the crisis is also well beyond the scope of any individual country or sector and cannot be dealt with in isolation.