Water Witness

Research, advocacy and action to ensure a fair and sustainable water future for all.

Water Witness International – a fair water future
Water is our planet’s life-giving force. But the water needed to keep us healthy, to produce our food and energy, to support commerce and maintain ecosystems is too often threatened by poor management and short term decision-making which prioritises profits over people and the environment. Water Witness International is a UK registered charity (SC041072) which works to improve the way that rivers, streams lakes and aquifers in developing countries are managed. We carry out targeted research and advocacy to deepen understanding, share knowledge and ensure accountability to advance a fair, secure and sustainable water future for all.

05/10/2026

We loved being at Scotland's International Development Alliance Conference last week!

👉 lots of great conversations
👉 a panel discussion featuring one of our directors
👉 launching our new report: ‘Who Pays The Water Bill?’

You can read the report and find out more here: https://waterwitness.org/who-pays-the-water-bill-report

11/09/2026

Our Inequality by the Gallon e-action sent 3,000 emails to MPs - now we need you in Westminster! 📣

On Wednesday 21st October, Water Witness will stand alongside fellow NGOs as well as community leaders and human rights defenders for the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act Lobby Day.

This is our chance to press MPs for stronger protections for people and the planet - but we need a powerful turnout to make sure they listen!

Register to join us: goodbusinessmatters.org/masslobby

08/06/2026

Almost everything in our daily lives takes water to produce.
Often that water is from places where ecosystems are under pressure, and communities don't have reliable access to clean, safe water.
Water risks must be tackled together- so our products have Fair Water Footprints

31/05/2026

Want to use your skills to tackle the global water crisis?
We're recruiting two roles in our small but mighty team- a Business Support Officer (part time) and an International Programmes Officer (full time.)
Full details on the roles, salaries, and how to apply at our website www.waterwitness.org/work-with-us

08/05/2026

The Latin Connections Film Festival 2026 is soon to kick off with Mining Cinema: Who Pays the Cost of Extraction?

This programme features Choropampa (2002) and Peru (1932), two landmark films united by their unflinching look at the human and environmental toll of mining. It will be followed by a Q&A with director Ernesto Cabellos and Peruvian anthropologist Sandra Rodríguez.

📅 Saturday, 16th May
🕢 7:00 p.m.
📍 Edinburgh Cine and Video Society
🎟️ Free entry. booking required
https://cinemaattic.com/event/miningcinema/

14/04/2026

Join us in Oxford on 21st April for our event Inequality by the Gallon: the hidden water powering our lives

11am-1230pm, The Symposium Room, 50 Market St, Oxford
REGISTER HERE: https://luma.com/sm3pfz7q

Everyday products rely on vast amounts of hidden water. From the electronics we use to the food we eat, global supply chains often depend on water resources far from where those products are consumed. In many cases, the impacts are felt most acutely by communities in the Global South. This interactive session explores the hidden water behind everyday consumption and its links to extractivism and water injustice. The session will also introduce the Fair Water Action Fund, which supports decolonial and community led responses to water injustice, in a changing geopolitical context where civil society and community leaders face risks for speaking out, and traditional sources of funding and support are drying up.

13/04/2026

What's the story behind the cocoa in our chocolate?
Read Water Witness' latest research on human rights and environmental risks for cocoa farmers in Cote D'Ivoire:
https://waterwitness.org/act-now/cocoa-cote-d-ivoire

08/04/2026

Act now to help bring in stronger rules for businesses on protecting water, people and nature in the places they grow the products they profit from.
www.waterwitness.org/act-now

06/04/2026

We all love chocolate. And we've all seen the headlines about chocolate shortages. So much of our food is grown elsewhere, and when those products are grown with unfair or unsustainable water use, it not only creates problems for the growers, it affects the availability of products (and the cost) for shoppers here in the UK too.
You can help change this. Call on MPs to bring in stronger rules for businesses on human rights and the environment, and help protect growers, and ensure sustainable, affordable products for us too. www.waterwitness.org/act-now

02/04/2026

Let's talk about cocoa.
It's what makes chocolate, chocolate.
Small farmers in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire are the world’s leading cocoa producers- their cocoa is in every major chocolate brand that makes the treats we love.

However, there are serious human rights concerns in cocoa production zones in Côte d'Ivoire - where people are drinking unsafe water, and don’t have somewhere safe and decent to use the toilet.
Meanwhile, climate change is affecting their crops, leaving them with diseased crops and a loss of income. In 2024, the drop in cocoa production was so extreme, that ‘chocolate shortages’ were widely reported, and prices rocketed for consumers.
Some farmers reported that they could no longer afford school fees, and had to take their children out of school to work on the farm.

We’re being sold inequality by the gallon.
No-one should live without access to the human rights to water and sanitation. Demand a fair water footprint: www.waterwitness.org/act-now

Address

3/2 Boroughloch Square
Edinburgh
EH89NJ

Telephone

+441316628546

Website

http://waterwitness.org/

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