Photo stories: World Water Day 2009

Millions of people do not have access to safe drinking water. Millions more face growing water stress as over-exploitation, pollution and climate change threaten the world’s freshwater supply. With 40 per cent of the world’s population sustained by rivers and lakes bordering two or more countries, World Water Day 2009 is calling for improved cooperation to satisfy everyone’s water needs. UN Photo

A worker races against the clock to get life-giving drinking water to thousands of victims of tropical storm “Hanna,” one of four back-to-back hurricanes to batter Haiti in 2008. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), along with the peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH, worked to bring relief to some 800,000 people displaced by the storms. UN Photo

Herders in the Sahara give their camels a well-earned drink. Nowhere is the burgeoning global water crisis more evident than in the 3.5 million square miles of the Sahara. The UN Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility have launched numerous projects aimed at transboundary management of regional water resources. Swiatek Wojtkowiak FAO

In Kadonkani, Myanmar, a citizens’ initiative installed water filters and renovated the destroyed water pond. In the Ayeryawady delta, despite widespread flooding, drinking water is scarce. Ponds, wells and rainwater harvesting equipment were destroyed when Cyclone Nargis hit. UN Habitat is trying to rebuild water and sanitation infrastructure at the community level. Swiatek Wojtkowiak FAO

Women in Konso, Ethiopia who carry water for household purposes must climb hills and walk miles. In this hilly terrain, donkeys are not used to transport water so the task falls to women to carry up to 30-40 litres in plastic jerry cans over long distances. All the water for drinking, washing and even for animal consumption has to be manually carried to a family compound. Swiatek Wojtkowiak FAO

UN peacekeepers with the Moroccan battalion of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) distribute water to villagers during a joint patrol with the members of the Licorne Forces, a French military operation in support of UNOCI. In times of war, water sources are protected under international humanitarian law. UN Photo

Bolivian youths earn a meagre living by fishing the shores of Lake Titcaca. Shared by Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America and the highest of the world's large lakes. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) helps both countries manage the lake’s biodiversity through community-based conservation, sustainable use and restoration activities. UN Photo

Children attempt to collect water from a drought-parched riverbed in India, one of several countries considered to be global warming “hotspots.” Anticipated increases in extreme drought, flooding and cyclones in the coming decades have the potential to thwart development and drain countries’ financial resources. A. Ishokon Still Pictures UNEP

People fetching drinking water from Lake Chad. Shared by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, this freshwater lake has receded to less than 20% of its former volume. Lake Chad has shrunk from 15,000 to 500 sq miles in 40 years. Survival is threatened as the lake and its resources are the source of livelihood for fishing and farming communities dotted along the lake’s shores. Joaquim Vieira

Lack of safe drinking water is only one of many hardships facing civilians displaced by war, even though the parties to armed conflict are required by international humanitarian law to meet their basic needs. Here, an Afghani boy who, along with his family was driven from his home by fighting, has only a muddy pool to quench his thirst. Abdullah Shaheen IRIN