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Nonprofit
Professional
Performance
Magazine
W
ithout water, there is no life. Without
clean water, there is no healthy life.Water
is the resource that is most taken advantage of
and fought over. Since the population and
technological booms of the 20th century,
pollution from manufacturing, farming, mining,
energy production and human waste has taken a
toll on water supplies. Climate change impacts
are shrinking those supplies even farther and
have increased competition for freshwater
sources. Water is the next great global crisis. It
will take innovative solutions and an army of
dedicated individuals to put an end to this path
of destruction and preserve our precious water
resources and planet. Environmental advocate
Bill McKibben says that we need a movement
with “thousands of leaders in thousands of
places, connected like the solar panels on the
roofs of an entire planet.”
Waterkeeper Alliance is a global network of
grassroots leaders protecting everyone’s right
to drinkable, fishable, and swimmable water.
Since 1966 when commercial and recreational
fishermen mobilized to reclaim the Hudson
River from the hands of polluters, the Hudson,
despite continued challenges and threats, has
become an icon of ecosystem revitalization.
Riverkeeper’s success spurred an explosive
growth of similar grassroots organizations
around the world. Founded in 1999 to support
those groups, Waterkeeper Alliance is made up
of more than 300Waterkeeper organizations and
affiliates, protecting waterways in 34 countries.
While other nonprofit organizations work
effectively on water issues, Waterkeeper Alliance
is unique in combining a singular focus on clean
water with an action-oriented model connecting
grassroots activists to a powerful global network.
Growing a Global Network of Grassroots
Leaders
Waterkeepers,ordinarycitizenswhocourageously
work full-time to ensure drinkable, fishable and
swimmable water for their communities, are the
core of our movement. Waterkeeper Alliance
superpowers their work and turns individual
local efforts into a unified, global entity. Anyone
carrying the Waterkeeper name must meet the
Alliance’s high standards for ethics, conduct and
effectiveness. Waterkeepers patrol waters, hold
polluters accountable, advocate for protection
of clean water, strengthen legal protections, and
raise public awareness about threats to local
waters to increase pressure for action.
Waterkeepers in Australia, Bangladesh, Chile,
China, Colombia, India, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal,
Sweden, Togo, the United Kingdom, and more
patrol and protect nearly 2.5 million square miles
of watersheds.They are the boots on the ground
making sure that water is protected and that
communities are safe.
Employing a Unique Model to Address
our Most Critical Water Issues
Contaminated water sickens and kills. Pollution
and shrinking access to water is alarming:
Clean Water for All
Waterkeeper Alliance
MARC YAGGI
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