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Ensuring clean waters for people and nature

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Article Published 15 Oct 2020 Last modified 29 Aug 2023

6 min read

Photo: © Jacob Kaptein, REDISCOVER Nature/EEA

Water covers more than 70 % of the Earth’s surface and is essential to all life on our planet. Of all the Earth’s water, 96.5 % is contained within the oceans as salt water, whereas the remaining 3.5 % is freshwater — lakes, rivers, groundwater and ice. Good management of this limited and precious resource is indispensable for the well-being of people and nature.