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Latest newsFrom the HSBC Water Programme
Chinese textile business booms after betting on sustainability
Back in 2012 with the global economy still mired in crisis, the proud new owners of a bankrupt Chinese textile mill took an extraordinary decision. Instead of trying to save the business by cutting costs even further, brothers Song Lingyong and Song Lingyan gambled on a new approach: investing in sustainability and water stewardship to survive in the ruthlessly competitive textile world.
Pantanal Journey of Water
The Journey of Water was created by the WWF network to connect people and nature through freshwater with the key message that ‘water doesn’t come from a tap’. It was first led by WWF-South Africa, and has also been delivered by WWF-Zambia – WWF-Brazil is the third country office to host the expedition.
Building businesses and access to WASH in Pakistan
A new WaterAid project in Pakistan, funded by the HSBC Water Programme, has provided training for entrepreneurs to support the growth of their businesses.
Zulfiqar Ali, 31, is a small business owner living in the village of Kalarwali in Punjab, Pakistan. Zulfiqar owns a small shop which sells materials used to build sanitary structures, such as toilets and sinks.
Before it all goes down the drain
Every year on February 2 we commemorate World Wetlands Day, a celebration of the floodplains, marshes and coastal areas all over the planet that permanently or periodically have their soil drenched. Pantanal Wetland is home to the largest of these, covering an area of over 170,500 km², it spans the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil, as well as Paraguay and Bolivia. This rich habitat is home to more than 4,000 animal and plant species. The motto of this year's World Wetlands Day is urban wetlands, which throughout the history of humankind have been continuously reclaimed for the construction of buildings, streets and gardens.
A year ahead look at the HSBC Water Programme
A look ahead at what the HSBC Water Programme has in store for 2018 for Earthwatch, WaterAid and WWF. Launching new projects and making strides forward in climate change related research into urbanisation, water and green infrastructure, it is set to be a busy year for all partners.
Supporting Nepal’s homestay industry with clean water and sanitation
Supporting the growth of small businesses may not be an obvious result of having access to clean water and sanitation. However, an eco-homestay project in Nepal relies on these facilities to succeed.
HSBC and Earthwatch plan for a resilient urban future
Building off a successful five year partnership, HSBC and Earthwatch have worked closely over the last year to launch the new global HSBC Sustainability Training Programme. Rooted in robust science and generating key research insights into climate change and urbanisation challenges, this programme is an evolution of the HSBC Water Programme partnership to focus on the wider climatic challenges we face in the wake of an increasing urban landscape.
Gharial rescue in the Ganga
Last October, WWF-India, together with the local authorities, came to the rescue of a gharial trapped 100 metres downstream of the Lower Ganga Canal gates in Narora. The animal was initially released 160 km upstream, in Makhdumpur village within the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, as part of our gharial introduction programme.
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The challenge of a soaring population with dwindling water
By 2050 more than half of the world’s nine billion population will be living in water scarce regions - take a closer look at population growth and the water challenge.
Watch: What does it take to become Citizen Science Leader of the Year?
HSBC Citizen Science Leader of the Year Januarie Hall describes why she became involved in FreshWater Watch and what drives her to achieve as much as she can with the programme.
Growing recognition of the importance of citizen science
FreshWater Watch took centre stage at the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in Florida to share our citizen science.
FreshWater Watch launches in Nigeria
FreshWater Watch launches in Nigeria to monitor faecal coliform bacteria in freshwater sources.
FreshWater Watch improving waters in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai
Leading scientists present water quality research from Earthwatch’s FreshWater Watch programme in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Citizen scientists keeping invasive species at bay
Citizen Scientist Leaders’ water data are helping to understand an imminent threat to a third of native fish in Lake Erie
Water Stories tells a tale on World Water Day
World Water Day was marked in fine style in London as we held the city’s launch of the Water Stories exhibition of photographs by Mustafah Abdulaziz.
World Water Day
Today is World Water Day – a global opportunity to take action, to make a difference and to be inspired by the vital role that water holds to life on Earth.
This year we are marking World Water Day with the London launch of Water Stories – a photographic exhibition by American photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz.
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Spend a Penny, Save a Pound: WaterAid calls for the UK to become a leader in water, sanitation and hygiene
WaterAid have launched a new film Spend a Penny, Save a Pound’, calling on the UK Government to become a global water, sanitation and hygiene leader. The film features Douglas Flint, previous Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings.
One in ten people still don’t have access to clean water, and one in three don’t have access to a decent toilet. The UK Government has the power to change this.
Delivering education for sustainable change in Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Due to this rapid growth in population and urbanisation, as well as prolonged political instability, many people living in the country don’t have access to clean drinking water or a decent toilet. 16 million people living in Pakistan still don’t have access to clean water, and 68 million people still don’t have access to adequate sanitation.
Driving female entrepreneurship with clean water
WaterAid, together with the HSBC Water Programme, are working to provide clean water and sanitation to communities living in rural Ghana. The accessibility of clean water is empowering women to join the workforce and start their own business, which is driving entrepreneurship and contributing to gender equality.
Creating Partnerships for Change: The HSBC Water Programme at World Water Week 2017
WaterAid’s ambition is to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene available for everyone, everywhere by 2030. With 844 million people still living without access to clean water, and 2.3 billion without adequate sanitation, we do not underestimate the scale of this task. We know that achieving SDG Goal 6 (ensure access to water and sanitation for all) is only possible through committed partnerships across public, private and not for profit organisations. These partnerships have the potential to drive change in a number of ways.
The biggest water fight this summer
This summer, WaterAid have been spreading the message all over the UK about a very important water fight.
Water Stories: The global water crisis in pictures
HSBC’s global charity partners, together with photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz, have documented images and stories highlighting the global water crisis. The Water Stories exhibition is currently being shown at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver, from 7-24 July, 2017.
Hand in hand: providing water and dignity to Bangladesh’s tea pickers
Working with local partner IDEA, WaterAid were the first NGO to gain access to tea gardens in Bangladesh, and provide clean drinking water and working toilets for tea pickers.
Empowering women through WASH
The theme of International Women's Day 2017 (8 March) is to celebrate women’s achievements and to help forge a better working world – a more inclusive, gender equal world.
In many countries, girls and women are responsible for fetching water for their families. They walk for miles, carry heavy buckets and may have to queue for hours. The work is back-breaking and time-consuming. Often the water is contaminated and unsafe to drink, even deadly.
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Different Backgrounds, Shared Goal - By Denise Hruby
In northern India, WWF has linked people up and down society to clean the Ramganga river
By Denise Hruby
With a strong underhand toss, an elderly man releases a blue plastic bag full of garbage, letting it fly in a long arc over the banks of the river. As the bag lands next to two men who have come for an afternoon swim, it the sack of waste makes a flat splash.
HSBC Water Programme film with message of water-wise development wins global sustainability film award
WWF’s film ‘How improving farms helps protect the Mara River: Nancy’s story’ has won ‘Protecting the Environment’ category in the tve Global Sustainability Awards 2016, announced this week at an awards ceremony held at the British Academy of the Arts (BAFTA).
Constructed wetlands in the Mara
The Mara River, site of the site of a phenomenon dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the world is arguably the lifeline to the tourism industry to the great Mara River Basin. In July and August – peak season in the Mara – visitors from across the globe flock to witness the breathtaking wildebeest migration.
Celebrating the world’s wonderful waterways on World Rivers Day
World Rivers Day, celebrated this Sunday 25 September, is one day in the year to acknowledge the vitally important role that our world’s waterways play in our everyday life, and in supporting life on earth.
It’s also a time to highlight some of the inspiring work we’re achieving together through the HSBC Water Programme to foster better river stewardship for future generations of people, and wildlife.
Reason to celebrate: Target reached for healthy communities in the Mara and beyond
It’s hard enough being a single mother, but Nancy Rono faces the challenge of raising her family in an area facing relentless challenges to its most vital and basic resource: Water.
Nancy is one of 1 million people who reply on the Mara river basin for their livelihoods, in a region facing enormous environmental pressures due to population growth and unsustainable depletion of natural resources.
Guardians of the Mekong
In Laos, being asked to be a river guard is an honour: it is a position of authority, and in the long term patrol members are protecting both the environment and the livelihood of their village.
Green Education in the Mekong
Five pilot ‘Green Schools’ in Laos have been established by WWF-Laos to further conservation education among young people in the Greater Mekong.
The last Mekong dolphins of Cambodia: A baby is born
WWF conservation experts were jubilant when they spotted a mother dolphin with her newly born baby in Kampi pool on the banks of the Mekong River
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