Wednesdays for the Planet | Our Planet – Fresh Water

Wednesdays for the Planet is a series of online screenings and virtual presentations with experts highlighting the natural world and other environmental challenges our planet faces. The virtual screenings are for educational purposes, non-profit and non-commercial.

Film: Our Planet | Fresh Water

Our Planet is an eight-part docuseries that explores the unique and precious wonders of our natural world. The docuseries combines stunning photography and technology with an unprecedented, never-before-filmed look at the planet’s remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants. The ambitious four-year project has been filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, with over 600 members of crew capturing more than 3,500 filming days, focusing on the breadth of diversity of habitats around the world, from the remote Arctic wilderness and mysterious deep oceans to the vast landscapes of Africa and diverse jungles of South America.

Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Our Planet is a groundbreaking collaboration between WWF, Netflix and Silverback Films. It has also won two Emmy awards for Outstanding Documentary Series and Outstanding Narrator.

Episode: Fresh Water

In the episode Fresh Water, examine how the need for fresh water is as strong as ever. However, the supply is becoming increasingly unpredictable for all manner of species. We are continually disrupting the flow of fresh water. It no longer reaches the places that it used to and to the people and wildlife that need it. Many rivers no longer reach the sea. Mega dams block entire rivers and by taking too much water upstream we don’t leave enough for those downstream. Being smart about how we farm and rethinking how we dam rivers will allow the flow to return.

Experts

David Tickner

Chief Freshwater Advisor, WWF-UK

David Tickner is the Chief Freshwater Adviser at WWF-UK and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of East Anglia. He provides strategic leadership to WWF’s river conservation programmes across the globe and guides WWF’s engagement with governments, companies and the expert community on water policy and practice. Previously, Dave worked in the UK government’s environment ministry; led WWF’s programme for the Danube River; was a non-executive director of Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP); and acted as a special adviser on sustainability to Standard Chartered bank. Dave holds a PhD in hydro-ecology and has authored, edited or contributed to peer-reviewed papers, technical reports, popular articles and books on water and environment issues.

Natasha Carmi

Lead Water Specialist at Geneva Water Hub

Natasha Carmi joined the Geneva Water Hub in March 2018 and contributes to the establishment of the Global Water Observatory on Water and Peace, as well as the development of the women, water and peace agenda. Prior to that, she worked as water policy advisor to the Palestinian Negotiations Support Project, working closely with decision makers, and has experience in bilateral and regional water negotiations. She is used to working in highly sensitive and timely political environments. She worked with water resources and environmental challenges in the Middle East for the past 20 years. She serves frequently as a faculty member for conferences and workshops dealing with transboundary water resources in general, and hydropolitics in particular, at which water is a core political issue and international water law is a necessary framework for resolving conflicts and identifying opportunities and solutions.

Virtual Discussion

Online Screening

Viewers are invited to watch the documentary online prior to the live virtual discussion. Please click on the link below to view the documentary.