Erkin | November 9, 2017
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Pitcher Plants Entice Ants With a Water Slide of Death

In Venezuela, Heliamphora nutans a type of carnivorous pitcher plant that grows in swampy locales beckons ants with a water slide of doom. The specie’s specially adapted, wettable hairs counter the sticky pads and little claws on insect feet and especially seem to target ants, Wired reports.

Ants investigate the deadly pitcher plant

Compared to other carnivorous plants that have capture rates of about 29 percent for ants, researchers found, the wet hairs on this pitcher plant trap 88 percent of ants that encounter the deadly trap. While other plants tend to repel water, H. nutans‘ hairs actually attract tiny droplets. When ants venture onto the slippery surface, they aquaplane into the plant’s bowl. Read more

Category: Facts and figures |
Erkin | November 7, 2017
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Supporting Water Security

Water is a renewable but a finite resource. It can be recycled but not replaced. To achieve water security, we need to protect vulnerable water systems, mitigate the impacts of floods and droughts, safeguard access to water and manage water resources in an integrated and equitable manner.

UNESCO assists Member States to address water-related disasters and hydrological changes, water scarcity and quality, water and human settlements, eco-hydrology and water education. Partnership with UNESCO is an opportunity to help: Read more

Category: Article |
Erkin | November 3, 2017
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Ocean Plastic: How Sea Horse Picked Up Cotton Swab

The American photographer managed to make a unique photo that shows how plastic debris pollutes the ocean. In the photo a small sea horse clings its tail behind a cotton swab.

The author of the photo, Justin Hoffman, is not only a photographer, but also an ecologist. He shot the sea horse during the Sea Legacy expedition in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumbawa Island (Indonesia). Read more

Category: Article |
Erkin | November 2, 2017
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4 innovative ways to help end water stress

With severe droughts in Puerto Rico and California, damaging floods in Myanmar, and the ongoing global energy-water crisis, we are living on a planet that is under increasing water stress.

There are roughly 1.1 billion people worldwide lacking access to water, with about a billion more finding a clean water source only once a month. This is incredibly problematic for societal development. It impedes sanitation efforts, discourages economic growth, and impacts educational attainment. With this in mind, it is vital that world leaders call for proper water management, as it is a prerequisite for development. Read more

Category: Article |
Erkin | October 31, 2017
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Ending the water crisis is about people, not water

Ending the water crisis is not simple, and cannot be answered solely through technology.

“An NGO came in and dug us a well, but it’s not really used because there’s no money to really keep it. Half of the village goes into the forest for water, while the rest of the people remain on taps, waiting for water that isn’t flowing”, explains one Chief. The Chief adds that electric pumps were installed to the water system with the expectation that his village would have the money to pay for its fuel. With the Chief’s community living below the poverty line, this expectation is cruel. Without fuel, the system eventually broke down and needed repair. Read more

Category: Article |