The Global Water Crisis in Pictures

The Global Water Crisis in Pictures

On World Water Day, photographer Mustafah Abulaziz presents images of this precious resource from around the world.



“Water
is one of the great challenges of our time. Across the
planet we are seeing our fundamental relationship with water called
into question. Our most critical resource for life on this planet
hangs in a delicate balance: between growing populations and energy
demands, between rising seas and melting ice, and between those who
have access to clean water and those who do not.”


Since 2011, American photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz has
travelled to eight countries highlighting the impact of the global
water crisis. Abdulaziz has captured individuals and the landscapes
whose stories are intertwined with, and impacted by water – the
city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where two polluted rivers provide water
for 21million people; the poisoned marigold fields of Kanpur,
India; shrimp fishermen at dawn on the restored Lake Hong, China;
the barren river bed of the Ganges, India and brightly dressed
women hauling water from a 150ft well, three hours walk from their
home in Pakistan.

This ongoing series, which Abdulaziz anticipates developing over
the next ten or so years, will eventually encompass every aspect of
our interaction with water -whether it is through the natural
world, human interaction, or industrialisation. His body of work,
that stretches across the planet to include 32 countries, is
structured into thematic chapters, which Abdulaziz hopes will
ultimately help us to understand where we stand in relation to one
of the greatest challenges of our time.

Abdualziz believes that photographs have the capacity to bring
into focus our place in the world, and hopes that the imbalance
between water and civilization may be explored by the viewer in the
hope that we may look upon ourselves and our world, not as separate
entities but as bodies whose futures are intrinsically linked.