Children in a refugee camp in Jordan
Dossier

Dossier

Water

Water is the elixir of life. But if the cycle of condensation and precipitation falls out of sync, rivers dry up – or they flood their banks. Our dossier guides the reader from the glaciers of the world's highest mountain ranges in Pakistan to the underground sewers of the Albanian city of Korça. It features people who have learned to live with flooding – and people who only think of their river as one thing: a transport route.

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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Olives lying under a tree

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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A little boy is crossing flooded grounds in Bangladesh

Protected by schools and roads

In Bangladesh, it is possible to see how development cooperation and flood control can be perfectly combined. KfW financed the construction of protective structures along the coast and a bridge, amongst other things.

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Short film about water supply for Zaatari
A woman and two children sit in an accommodation for refugees in Za'atari

Water for Zaatari

Zaatari is one of the largest refugee camps in the world in Jordan. KfW promotes the water supply in Zaatari. In our video report, you can see what the project means for the 80.000 inhabitants.

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Monitoring station on a glacier

Glaciers under surveillance

There are more than 7,000 glaciers in Pakistan. Many of them are retreating as a result of climate change – which has far-reaching consequences. Now a monitoring system is to warn people at an early stage of flooding caused by meltwater and heavy rainfall.

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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. Chief Economist of KfW Jörg Zeuner talks to the holder of the Alternative Nobel Prize about ways to implement the UN human right to water.

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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 development cooperation in Palestine
Beach Palestine

Clean water in the Gaza Strip

Gaza is an overpopulated coastal region blighted by conflicts, water shortages and poverty. KfW is promoting water supply projects and the construction of wastewater treatment plants.

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Carsten Jasper on the rooftop of the climate-friendly complex with ice storage heating in Cologne

Heat from ice

Generating heat from ice, is that really possible? Sternenberger Hof is proving that it is: the climate-friendly complex in the Porz district of Cologne uses an underground ice storage system for its heat.

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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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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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Korca in Albania

Waste water system paving the way to the future

A functioning waste water system eliminates health risks and protects the environment. This was to be achieved by the FC project for waste water disposal and treatment in the Albanian city of Korça. The evaluation attested to exceptionally high rates of success.

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Flood control for Beira

The Mozambique harbour town of Beira is suffering from the consequences of climate change. Heavy rains and spring tides caused the Chiveve River to overflow its banks. But now a barrage protects the city from flooding.

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View from outer space

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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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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Plastic waste washed upon the shore

The poison in our oceans

Plastic waste is a threat to our oceans' ecosystems as animals mistake waste for food and die in cruel circumstances. Dr Ralph Kadel, member of the Management Board of Blue Action Fund, sets out possible solutions.

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Constructionn site of sluice in IJmuiden

Gateway to Amsterdam

The old sea locks of IJmuiden allow seagoing vessels to travel as far as Amsterdam. Yet the largest of the new generation of ships are unable to pass through. With the help of KfW IPEX-Bank, a major new sea lock is now being built.

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Living with the floods

Lives are increasingly threatened all over the world by violent storms or heavy rain. Photographer Gideon Mendel portrays flood victims in his photo project entitled "Drowning World". KfW Stories displays some of his impressive images in a photo gallery.

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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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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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Ilsfeld's town sign: European energy and climate protection municipality

A plus for both the climate and balance sheet

The community of Ilsfeld wants to cut its ties to fossil-based sources of energy. The local heat network in Ilsfeld uses the heat from purified waste water and supplies the community with environmentally-friendly energy.

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