The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

• The IUCN's Wetlands & Water Resources Programme aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of freshwater and tidal wetlands, so that these ecosystems meet the needs of human society and make a greater contribution to the conservation of biological diversity. Poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management are linked in field projects around the world and the experience from these field projects isused to develop (inter)national policies for ecosystem management and sustainable development.
• The IUCN Water and Nature Initiative is a five-year action plan to develop practical solutions to polluted waterways, dried-up rivers, and drained wetlands. The Initiative finds and tests these solutions in river basins around the world and these on-the-ground experiences assist in developing financial and legal instruments needed for good management. The IUCN Water and Nature Initiative demonstrates that ecosystem-based management and participation of stakeholders will help solve the water crisis of today -bringing rivers back to life and maintaining the livelihoods of many.