Grassroots International celebrates World Water Day and the efforts of small farmers, indigenous peoples and water rights activists worldwide.

In light of global water grabs, this year’s theme is quite ironic: water cooperation. Water is essential to life yet we are seeing communities being stripped of their water rights every day. From Brazil to Palestine to India to the US, water resources are being privatized and sold off to the highest bidder while communities are left thirsty and unable to maintain their crops. And governments, fueled by greed (or desperation), are failing to protect these vital resources.

But at the same time we are also seeing communities coming together to protect their common resources and demand their human right to water; and to keep water in the commons. Whether it’s communities in Palestine resisting occupation and working to stop the Separation Wall from grabbing vital aquifers, or building cisterns and wells in Haiti so everyone has access to clean drinking water, or fighting against the creation of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon that will flood and destroy living ecosystems, our partners continue to work to defend the resources they need to thrive and survive.

Thank you for supporting the work of Grassroots International and efforts to defend water rights across the globe. Together we will show the UN, corrupt governments, and greedy multinational corporations what true water cooperation looks like and how life-giving resources can be managed responsibly.