Children at a water tap in the township Flamingo Heights
Dossier

Dossier

Water

Access to clean water is a universally recognised human right. But there are growing signs around the world that clean drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. We report on this in our Water dossier and also feature other stories about water. For example, how a sewage treatment plant in the Palestinian city of Nablus is helping agriculture, how access to clean water is being increased in Kabuland how the company Boreal Light is able to supply people in Africa with clean water at a low cost.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

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Mohamed Ali Torki is technical manager of the Tunisian costal protection agency

More sand on the beach

Rising sea levels are threatening Tunisia’s 1,100 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline, and the effects are far-reaching: people along the coast account for 90 per cent of the country’s total economic output. Now the measures implemented since 2013 are beginning to bear fruit.

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Water reservoir Sidi Saad

More water, more income

Large-scale modernisation of the Sidi Saad dam is intended to protect the population in the arid centre of Tunisia from sudden flooding and to ensure a controlled supply of water to the surrounding villages. Small farmers, fishermen and an agricultural cooperative, founded by women in rural areas, will benefit from the project.

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Drinking water from the Mediterranean Sea

A seawater desalination plant on Djerba supplies the entire population of the popular holiday island with drinking water. Although this process is energy-intensive, the plant sets new standards by recovering energy.

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Palestinian olive farmers Khaled Mkheimer

Farmers rely on treated wastewater

In the West Bank, only a few crops thrive that have adapted to the extreme summer-like dry conditions in the region. But for the farmers west of the city of Nablus, a new source of water has now been found that will reduce their dependency on rain.

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To the article about the water supply project
Employees of Fichtner Water & Transportation

Awareness-raising about clean water

Many families in Kabul do not have access to clean water. The state water authority supplies only about 16 per cent of households. Now awareness is being raised about the water supply in the Afghan capital and access to clean water is being expanded.

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To the business founders’ profile
Team of Boreal Light

Drinking water for all

Boreal Light developed a system that has the ability to provide the population with an affordable drinking water supply. The Berlin-based company was crowned the national winner of the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award 2019 for this achievement as well as winner of the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award 2019 in the “people’s choice”.

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Men in the café at the hydroelectric power station

Hydropower plant as an attraction

For the people in the region, it is an attraction of great importance. They regularly take excursions to the construction site in northeast Afghanistan. A hydropower plant is currently being built near Faizabad, which will supply electricity to 15,000 households.

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Clean water at fair prices

Frank Jacobs and his team at Cologne company mft developed an innovative water treatment plant for a Columbian village in La Guajira.

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How to get the seas clean again

How does plastic waste actually get into the sea? And what can we do to get the oceans clean again? KfW has an idea – and acts! To learn more about this, watch our animated film.

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Garbage collector Jumini

Millions against rubbish

How can the plastic pollution of our oceans be stopped? A multi-million dollar waste project financed by KfW in Indonesia shows that the battle against marine litter must also be fought on land.

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Fewer uncontrolled waste dumps

KfW is supporting controlled waste recycling and disposal in Albania with funds from the German Federal Government and EU grants. The uncontrolled waste dumps there have become a major problem for the country, neighbouring states and the Mediterranean.

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Maude Barlow and Jörg Zeuner, talking while walking alongside a wooden wall

Ways out of the water crisis

The Canadian author and activist Maude Barlow fights, on numerous fronts, for more water justice. In his position as Chief Economist of KfW Jörg Zeuner talked in 2017 to the holder of the Alternative Nobel Prize about ways to implement the UN human right to water.

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Blue jeans on a washing line

Virtual water consumption

Whether jeans or breakfast eggs — manufacturing products and producing food consumes water. Professor Arjen Hoekstra explains how the virtual water footprint is calculated in this interview.

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Earthrise picture

The blue planet

Water — the universe is full of it. But only Earth transformed into a blue planet. Water is the source of life, but also a constant threat. An essay about the precious asset of water.

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Water risks

Engineer Jens Hönerhoff has developed the globally unique Water Risk Filter with World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). The tool helps companies in making investment decisions.

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Ellizabeth Rantoetse at her sink

Cape Town’s road to clean water

Cape Town's sewage plants are overburdened. The city' s wastewater often flows unfiltered into the sea. The outdated sewage treatment plants are now being modernised. It is the first project of the European Clean Oceans Initiative.

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Breaking taboos. Loudly.

From a taboo subject to centre stage in the event arena: the Hamburg-based company Goldeimer raises awareness about compost toilets in Germany to give more people around the world access to sanitation. For its work, Goldeimer was honoured with the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award 2018 as the state winner for Hamburg.

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How the Managua Lake was saved
Lake Managua

Back to life

For a long time, Lake Managua was considered the largest cesspool in the world. A new wastewater treatment plant saved the lake and turned it into a recreational area for Nicaragua.

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Land iguana, Galapagos

A paradise in need

The Galapagos Islands are famous for their unique wildlife. Yet its habitat is at risk due to the increasing number of tourists and inhabitants on the archipelago. Decentralised wastewater treatment plants are now helping to protect the fragile ecosystem of the archipelago.

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Drought in Jordan

Water shortage in Jordan

Barely any country suffers from a lack of water as much as Jordan. Due to refugees from Syria and Iraq, the country's water requirements are increasing dramatically. KfW is now increasing its commitment in the crisis region. The project is also supported by the French AFD.

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Drought in Africa

When the rain fails

Many African countries are struggling with the consequences of climate change and global warming: more frequent droughts. An innovative form of drought insurance has successfully completed its test run. KfW and Agence Française de Développement support the project.

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to the article about terrace irrigation in India
Field in Buchkewadi

Terraces bear fruit

When there is no harvest, many families flee to the city. But the residents of the village of Buchkewadi in India have banded together to stop the leaching of their arable land. One of the village elders explains how they have done it.

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To the article about the new weir in Egypt
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Mammoth construction for small farmers

After years of construction, the new Assiut barrage over the Nile in Egypt was inaugurated this summer. It is a mammoth construction that is of particular benefit to small farmers in the region. The water supply for their scarce agricultural land is now secured again.

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To the article "Using knowledge to combat erosion"
Banking of agricultural land in Ethiopia

Using knowledge to combat erosion

Agricultural land in Ethiopia has to feed more and more people. To stop the degradation of their land, many farmers are actively committed to a KfW project that promotes sustainable land management and ensures water supply in their country.

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