Water The world's thirst for water is likely to become one of the most pressing resource issues of the 21st Century. Global water consumption rose sixfold between 1900 and 1995 -- more than double the rate of population growth -- and continues to grow rapidly as agricultural, industrial, and domestic demand increases. More than one half of all accessible surface water, as well as an enormous quantity of groundwater, is diverted for human uses. Water tables are now falling on every continent, including in major food-producing regions. Twenty countries already suffer from water stress and, if present trends continue, 25 more countries will suffer from water stress by 2050. Water pollution also adds enormously to existing problems of local and regional water scarcity by removing large volumes of water from the available supply. At least 1.3 billion people live without clean water, killing an estimated 2 million people every year. International Africa/Middle East Asia/South Pacific Europe North America International   Center for Marine Conservation www.cmc-ocean.org Center for Marine Conservation is committed to protecting ocean environments and conserving the global abundance and diversity of marine life. Through science-based advocacy, research and public education, CMC promotes informed citizen participation to reverse the degradation of our oceans. Cousteau Society www.cousteau.org The Cousteau Society is a nonprofit, membership-supported organization dedicated to the protection and improvement of the quality of life for present and future generations. Founded in 1973 by Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the Society now has more than 150,000 members worldwide. Global Water www.globalwater.org Global Water's Role is to educate the American public about the importance of water in development and encourage greater commitment to this sector by both governmental and non-governmental aid agencies. Also to carry out water projects in developing countries, respond to disaster and emergency crises and implement health-related projects in developing countries. Global Water is the only international, non-profit, non-sectarian and non-governmental organization specifically dedicated to the development and implementation of safe water and health-related projects in developing countries around the world. International Rivers Network www.irn.org International Rivers Network (IRN) is the leading organization working to halt the construction of destructive river development projects and to promote sound river management options worldwide. IRN believes that the crisis facing many of the world's rivers and riverine populations is best exemplified by the continued proliferation of massive hydroelectric, irrigation, water supply, flood control, channelization, and transportation projects. These projects represent an outdated approach to river management which limits public participation in defining river management objectives. The old approach severely restricts access to project information and decisions by perpetuating a bias toward large-scale infrastructure, preempting any significant examination of alternative river and watershed management options. Africa/Middle East   Jordan Royal Ecological Diving Society jred@nets.com.jo PO Box 5586 Amman - 1183 Jordan Tel: 962 6 679142 Fax 9626 679 142 Asia/South Pacific   Ocean Park Conservation Foundation www.scuba.net.hk/oceanpark The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation was established in 1993 by Ocean Park Corporation.. Now is a registered charitable trust. The Foundation's mission is to "take a leadership role in education and conservation activities involving dolphins and whales and their habitats in East and Southeast Asia". The five-year Foundation action plan encompasses 16 specific projects, including four with the Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji - the most endangered dolphin species in the world. Others involve the Indo-Pacific Humpbacked dolphin or Chinese White dolphins in Hong Kong waters. Europe   European Rivers Network www.rivernet.org RiverNet is a service provided by ERN, the European Rivers Network. The aim of RiverNet is to provide world-wide information on river-basins, ecological projects on rivers, organizations (especially NGOs) working on rivers and on the threats, as dams and canal-projects. RiverNet is published in English, German and French. North America   American Rivers www.amrivers.org American Rivers is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America's river systems and to fostering a river stewardship ethic. The organization was founded in 1973 to expand the number of rivers protected by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Along with our conservation efforts, American Rivers promotes public awareness about the importance of healthy rivers and the threats that face them. Surfrider www.surfrider.org The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots-based, non-profit environmental organization that works to protect the coast. Founded in 1984, Surfrider now has 41 Surfrider chapters located along the East, West, Gulf, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian coasts. The Surfrider National USA headquarters are in San Clemente, California. Surfrider has over 25,000 members in the U.S.; in addition, International Surfrider chapters and affiliates have been established in 4 foreign countries, Japan, Brazil, France and Australia.