Only 2.5% of the world's water is fresh and of that, 99% is frozen in icebergs or hidden deep underground. Large areas of Africa receive little rainfall for much of the year, so even though Africa covers 20% of the world's land area, it only has 9% of global freshwater resources. Most Africans use only a fraction of the water available each day to people in industrialised countries. When water is easily available, especially when it arrives through a tap, it is easy to waste by using it carelessly. In Africa, people who have water piped to their houses use three times as much as households without. Some parts of Africa suffer terrible droughts. Finding ways to conserve and manage the water that is available is vitally important.

Featured videos

- Water: Introduction
- A community spring: Improvements in the life of a community
- Making water safe to drink: solar pasteurization
- Harvesting water at home: Roofwater harvesting
- Harvesting water on the farm: a short video abotu sinking wells
- Ecosan Toilets: a video about ecological sanitation

on this subject: PACE Project: Water