The Living Danube Partnership is a unique, cross?sectoral partnership that has brought together WWF, CEE, the CocaCola Foundation and the CocaCola system as well as the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) to promote the conservation and restoration of wetlands in the Danube basin. Supported by a $4.4 million (€3.73 million) grant from The Coca?Cola Foundation, the eight?year partnership has sought to restore vital wetlands,...

An environmental catastrophe looms over Polesia, Europe’s largest wetland wilderness. Governments want to create a 2,000 km long navigable waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Baltic, that would cut through the heart of the region. Constructing the so-called ‘E40’ waterway would require dredging, damming, straightening, and deepening of pristine rivers. This would lead to the destruction of enormous floodplains and wetlands, home to rare animals and plants, including eagles, bison, bears, wolves and lynx.

Improved utilization of water resources presents untapped opportunities for development in many low-income countries. Potential avenues for adding value include increased irrigation and agricultural development, hydropower-based energy generation, and supporting growing household, municipal, and industrial water demands....