World Wildlife Fund

Freshwater Efforts

Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USA
© Colby Loucks/WWF

Water is fundamental to both WWF and TCCC. WWF's mission is the conservation of nature and the protection of natural resources for people and wildlife. Freshwater ecosystems are a top priority in WWF's work. Beverages are TCCC's business; water is the main ingredient in every product the Company makes. It is also used to produce the sugar, citrus, coffee, and other ingredients in TCCC products. More broadly, clean water is a key determinant of economic growth in developing countries, and is critical for stable and growing markets.

Overview

• Water covers about 70 percent of the Earth's surface, but only three percent is fresh water. The predominant 97 percent is saltwater, unsuitable for drinking or agriculture.
• Only one percent of the world's water is found in our rivers, lakes, streams, aquifers and springs, making it readily available for human consumption.
• Primary water users include domestic and household (10 percent); industrial (20 percent); and agricultural (70 percent). The world has a finite amount of fresh water, but if managed properly, there is enough to meet personal, agricultural and industrial needs.

Global water challenges

• 41 percent of the world's human population lives in a river basin under water stress.
• 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation services.
• By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population could be facing serious water shortages.
• It is estimated the effects of climate change, which are expected to be most severe in developing countries, will exacerbate this problem and lead to droughts, rising sea levels and floods.

Business case for water conservation

• Adequate supplies of fresh water are essential to life, health and economic development.
• Flooding and drought, often exacerbated by poor management of river basins, cause billions of dollars of damage to economies and communities.
• On any given day, half the population of the developing world is suffering from water-related diseases, resulting in the loss of 5 billion working days a year.

Conservation issues

• More than half of the world's wetlands have been lost in the last century alone.
• Freshwater species and habitats are among the world's most endangered.
• Dams and river navigation works have dramatically altered the amount, timing, and quality of flows in most major rivers, wreaking havoc on their natural functions.

Overview of WWF's freshwater conservation work
WWF is working globally to:

• Ensure healthy environmental processes in at least 50 river basins and ecoregions
• Protect and sustainably manage 250 million hectares of representative wetlands by 2010
• Promote adoption by government and industry of policies and techniques that conserve life in rivers and reduce poverty for dependent communities

Overview of The Coca-Cola Company's global water stewardship strategy
TCCC is working to become a leader in global water stewardship. The Company's strategy encompasses four elements:

• Plant Performance. Becoming best-in-class at water management - water use efficiency, water quality, and wastewater management
• Watershed Protection. Supporting the protection of watersheds in regions where we operate
• Supporting Community Initiatives. Helping enable access to clean drinking water in underserved communities where we operate
• Global Awareness and Action. Helping mobilize the international community to drive global awareness and action to address water challenges 

Watersheds We Will Conserve
A primary component of our partnership is conserving seven of the world's most important watersheds, which span more than 20 countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia - The Yangtze River, Southeastern U.S. Rivers and Streams, the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River, the Mesoamerican Reef, the Mekong River, Rivers and Lakes of Coastal East Africa and the Danube River.

The watersheds selected for this partnership were chosen based on several factors. Those factors include biological diversity (species richness and endemism, unique habitat types, etc.), opportunity for meaningful conservation gains (a solid foundation of previous work on which to build, opportunities to attract partners, leverage funding, etc.), potential to advance issues of resource protection and importance to the communities in which TCCC operates around the world.

The challenges in each watershed vary greatly, from dams that have outgrown their usefulness, to agriculture run-off issues to loss of habitat due to development and land reclamation. As each area is examined, WWF and TCCC teams will develop action plans, based on the specific conservation issues that need to be addressed. Each plan will include defined focus areas, as well as means for measuring and reporting on progress over the course of the project.

Included below are facts about each water basin, key conservation issues and preliminary details about the work of the partnership in five of the watersheds.

• Yangtze River
• Mekong River
• Rio Grande/Rio Bravo
• Southeastern U.S. Rivers and Streams
• Mesoamerican Reef
• Rivers and Lakes of Coastal East Africa
• Danube River
  

Download partnership fact sheet on watershed conservation (PDF, 37KB)

Download partnership fact sheet on freshwater (PDF, 24KB)

Learn more about WWF freshwater programs