WATER CONSERVATION
OVERVIEW
Water is part of us and it gives us life. All cultures and religions have ceremonies that involve water – washing with it, drinking it, pouring it, thanking its deities or sprinkling it on children’s foreheads. Many sacred lands also include sacred waters, including rivers, holy wells, coastal marshlands and seas.
Threats to clean water sources are reaching crisis levels from thirsty crops, industrial pollution and sewage, and dams and infrastructure that fragment our river systems. Nearly two billion people already live in areas at risk from severe water scarcity. But with growing populations, increasing consumption and climate change, this and other harmful impacts will only worsen without urgent action.
Thou art he who sends the springs into the valleys, which run among the mountains. They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst. Next to them the fowls of the heavens have their habitation; they sing among the leaves.
– Psalm 104 (10-12)
Dangerous tipping points are approaching
WATER SYSTEMS SHOW THE STRAIN
The 2024 Living Planet report, produced by WWF in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, shows the alarming decline in the state of nature globally. ​​Water systems provide early warning signs that several global tipping points are fast approaching.
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In the biosphere, mass die-off of coral reefs would destroy fisheries and storm protection for hundreds of millions of people living on the coasts
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In ocean circulation, the collapse of the subpolar gyre, a circular current south of Greenland would dramatically change weather patterns in Europe and North America.
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In the cryosphere (frozen planet), the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets would unleash many metres of sea level rise, while large-scale thawing of permafrost would trigger vast emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
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Read more in the 2024 Living Planet report.
Learn what global faith groups are doing to conserve freshwater and marine areas.
Global One
Booklet on the integral role water plays in Islam and the importance of water conservation
IFEES
Guidebook developed to support the Misali Island Marine Conservation Area, Zanzibar
WWF/Australian Aid
A guide to re-using water for ablutions, part of the Australia-Pakistan Water Security Initiative (APWSI)
IFEES
Guidebook developed to support the Misali Island Marine Conservation Area, Zanzibar
WWF/Australian Aid
Manual for building a system for reusing ablution water
Find partners
Groups working on fresh and marine water conservation
Please contact us if you are working with faith communities on fresh and marine water conservation and would like your organisation to be listed here.
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Key guidance documents
Interested in getting a collaboration or a project going with a faith community but not sure where to start? Check out these key guidance documents.
