You and CI — protecting fresh water.
Thank you to everyone who helped promote healthy people, and healthy ecosystems, by getting Wild for Water with Conservation International (CI)! Here’s how you helped spread the word about the critical connections between the health of rivers and streams and the well-being of people everywhere:
- More than 100 people shared stories about the rivers near to their hearts.
- More than 150 people added a Wild for Water badge to their Facebook profile photo.
- Dozens of people voted for their favorite water videos on CI’s YouTube page.
- And countless numbers of people talked about getting Wild for Water on Facebook and Twitter.
Your support helps us spread a critical message: Whatever happens upstream happens downstream, too. Ensuring that people everywhere have access to water is only half the battle; for a truly sustainable future, we must also protect the places that provide us with water in the first place.
Every step we take helps provide clean water to the one in six people around the world who lack it. It’s thanks to people like you that CI can continue our work.
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CI's work on fresh waterConservation International is addressing the threats to freshwater services for the benefit of humans and biodiversity alike through its Ecosystem Services and Freshwater Initiative. Launched in 2007, this initiative includes science, practice and leveraging policy and behavior changes.
The results CI is generating are critical for making a business case for biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation as a means of generating human welfare benefits within larger contexts of human development, poverty alleviation and land-use decision-making.
Our approach has three parts: - Developing the scientific base for understanding ecosystem services, identifying threats and determining priority areas
- Promoting innovative policies that support human development and the conservation of freshwater and ecosystem services
- Conducting field programs to test new approaches on the ground
 Clean Water, Better Health
Improved education and sanitation changed the lives of one Madagascar community. |
 Fresh Water: The Essence of Life
Freshwater is vital to our survival and comprises only 3 percent of the water on the planet. A video of the latest installment of the CEMEX Conservation Book Series gives hope for the future. |
Learn more about CI's freshwater strategy »
Your stories  Stories from our community
Pauline C., USA
As a walking/biking commuter I have the luxury of starting my day along the Ashuelot River in Keene, New Hampshire. This river feeds into the Connecticut River and has had many dams that were part of an industrial era that no longer exists on the river. Each year, another dam comes down and migratory fish get a little further north. A path along the river makes this river accessible to all residents. Our annual clean up reveals plenty of work still to do, but great progress. These small rivers are the lifeblood of many small communities across America. It is gives our town a water identity.
Yuriria P., Mexico
I live in Querétaro, the capital city of the state of Querétaro in México. Near my city, there is a small town called Concá, which along with other towns, they are settled in a mountain range called Sierra Gorda. In Concá, there are two rivers; one carries warm water and the other carries cold water. The first one has a brown color, and the second one is clear blue. The difference of colors and temperatures is quite evident. The rivers flow in opposite directions and there is a point in which they meet. However, their waters never mix; they keep flowing one besides the other. It is naturally amazing! I think this kind of wonders must never disappear.
Anonymous, Cambodia
I live in Phnom Penh, and our closest river is the famous Mekong. It passes through several countries before here and is very important to millions of people for food security and their livelihood. We need to protect this river from change, because so many depend on it. Stop the pollution and the damming, as the life in its waters flow into all of us that live around it.
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