World Wildlife Fund

The Purus River, part of the Floodplain Resources Management project in the Upper Purus River Basin. The project is one of the WWF Freshwater projects sponsored by HSBC in Brazil.
© WWF-Canon / Edward PARKER

WWF's Work and What You Can Do to Help

WWF's work
Fresh water is the single most essential resource for our well-being, and freshwater ecosystems support an incredible wealth of life.

Freshwaters - including rivers, lakes, and other wetlands -- provide food, water, fuel, and a variety of other ecosystem services, as well as habitat for countless species. Whole river basins that straddle country borders are a shared lifeline to many communities that have neither common customs nor languages.

In the United States, from the Florida Everglades to the Klamath Siskiyou forests, across the Chihuahuan Desert and over the rivers and streams of the Southeast, WWF is protecting entire landscapes that house and deliver the freshwater goods and services without which we cannot live.

In places like the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong river basins, WWF is working with governments and other partners to promote the sustainable use of nature and to ensure a water-secure future.

Protecting freshwater systems requires cooperation across sectors, looking for alternatives to harmful infrastructure, curbing water waste in agriculture, and reducing poverty through strong environmental policies.

WWF's Freshwater Program has therefore established the following global freshwater targets:

• ensuring healthy environmental processes in at least 50 river basins and ecoregions, including some threatened by unsustainable infrastructure development;
• protecting and sustainably managing almost 1 million square miles of representative wetlands by 2010; and
• promoting adoption by government and industry of policies and techniques that conserve life in rivers and reduce poverty for dependent communities.

WWF is developing a framework to protect important freshwater and forest resources that offer significant habitat for threatened species as well as providing subsistence livelihoods for local communities.
© Brent Stirton/Getty Images / WWF-UK

What You Can Do

Inside your home:

• Fix leaks. Check appliances that use water for leaks, and repair them quickly.
• Reduce garbage disposal use. Disposals require water to function, and add waste that must then be filtered out by your local waste water treatment plant.
• Wipe dishes. Rather than rinsing each dish, wipe them with a reusable rag before putting them in the dishwasher.
• Use the "short cycle" on your washing machine. This will save 10 gallons of water per load. Also, consider purchasing a high-efficiency washer.
• Install a water-efficient showerhead. Did you know that a 10-minute shower with an inefficient showerhead can use up to 50 gallons of water? Installing a water-efficient showerhead can save up to 6,000 gallons of water a year?
• Install a low-flush toilet. Doing so for a family of four will save 50 gallons of water per day. If your home was built before 1992 and the toilet has never been replaced, then it is very likely that you do not have a water-efficient 1.6-gallon-per flush toilet. You can check the date stamp inside the toilet by lifting the lid and looking at the back of the toilet at the manufacturer's imprint of the make, model and date of manufacture.
• Reduce household pollutants. Avoid buying toxic household products. Look for a label on soaps, disinfectants, bleach, drain cleaners, and spot removers that says "no phosphates." Or use vegetable-based cleaning products and biodegradable detergents available in most natural food stores. Do not dump hazardous chemicals, like painting supplies, lawn-care, or cleaning products down the drain. Follow disposal instructions.
• Make low-impact food choices. Routine agricultural practices in the U.S. have contaminated groundwater in 26 states with more than 47 pesticides. Buy organic foods, whose production reduces the chemical run-off into our waterways. Avoid wasting precious resources by buying only what you can eat.
• Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycling reduces the need to use raw materials for making new products, a process that is not only water-intensive, but increases water pollution.

Esteros del Ibera in Argentina is one of the most significant wetlands in South America, supporting an abundance of wildlife with very restricted distribution and a largely intact ecosystem.
© WWF-Canon / James FRANKHAM

 Outside your home:

• Fix leaks in your irrigation system. Fix leaks quickly and check for water in gutters or mud puddles. Inspect your sprinklers and drip sprayers regularly for leaks.
• Water plants at appropriate times. Hot weather does not necessarily mean your lawn or garden needs watering. It is best to water your garden in the cool of the morning or evening. Watch your garden for signs that it is thirsty: flowering plants will lean or wilt, lawns will leave tracks when stepped on.
• Use efficient equipment. Watering with a leaky hose will lead to poorly watered (shallow root system) plants and wasted water. Drip irrigation systems or "soaker" hoses are the most efficient way to water.
• Use mulch. Wood chips, shredded hard and softwood bark, grass clippings, or tree leaves laid 3 to 4 inches thick over your garden can reduce the evaporation of water and hold back weed growth.
• Group plants. Group plants according to water need so you avoid over or under watering each plant.