Lets Save Water Lets Save our Future

From 15th until 24th of October 2011 Murter, Croatia

Youth Exchange Project

What is this all about?

One of the world biggest problems is connected with the access to clean water for drinking. There are millions of people on the planet Earth without access to clean water for drinking and the ones that have this opportunity do not respect and do not know enough about the meaning of water.

35 young people from 5 different countries during 9 days have learned about water on the Island of Murter in Croatia!

Project Lets save Water Lets Save our Future has introduced the topic of safe and clean environment emphasizing the importance of the water. This project has been implemented under the YOUTH IN ACTION Programme by the organization Argonauta from Murter.
Participants were young people age 16-26 and their leaders from Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.

Project Goals
If we do not have water - we can not live and survive? Are we aware of the importance of water in our life? Do we use water inappropriate and are we doing something to save this element essential for the life of every human being?

35 youngsters from Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria has work together for 9 days in Murter, Croatia on the Youth Exchange Lets save Water - Lets save our future discovering the meaning of water and developing a sense for respect and appreciation of what nature has given to us.
Methods like teambuilding games, simulation exercises, role play exercises, competitions, presentations, open discussion, facts and figures and creative work have been implemented during the exchange. Furthermore the youngsters had a chance to learn more about culture in general, differences and similarities among different cultures, as well as have a chance to develop a link and cooperation in the future.

Project Summary
During the last years we are seeing bad examples of how the man pollutes the environment and the water, we are facing the fact that almost half of the population on the Earth does not have the access to clean water, people all over the world are fighting for this special drop of life - water. Europeans today share waters, but do not pay attention on polluting the water as well. If a river starts in Bulgaria and passes through Macedonia we are connected not divided! The nature give us an example of how to be connected. There is a need for education of young generations about the importance of water in our everyday life, saving water and not wasting it and not polluting the water.

With this project we will raise participants awareness about the position of the water in today society, the pollution that the men kind have made, the lack of water in some parts of the world. In this way youngsters will learn to appreciate the fact of having clean water to drink.

Project Results
THE RESULTS WE HAVE ACHIEVED: - we have raised the awareness of 35 youngsters from our countries about the meaning of environment and have promoted protection of the environment we all share; - we have broaden participants knowledge about water importance in our everyday life and also as fundamental part of the environment we share; - we have motivated participants to act as multipliers in the field of environment; - we have created an art exhibition on the topic of water, DVD and a (this) booklet about the project in order to have a bigger impact on the communities we are living in; - we have promoted cultural diversity of Europe through involving EU and non-EU countries; - we have strengthen the cooperation between the partner organizations working together on environmental protection.

What we have learned about water in each country:

Plitvice Lakes

CROATIA The Krka hydroelectric power plant (later called Jaruga I) was constructed and began operations on 28 August 1895, only two days after the first hydroelectric plant in the world, Adams power plant on the Niagara River began its operation. Croatia is the third country in Europe concerning water reservs. 32.828 m of regenerated water per person.

Modro Lake Crveno Lake

What we have learned about water in each country:

MACEDONIA Waters are approximately 2% of the territory of Macedonia, or 280.00 sq km. There are about 35 rivers and 53 natural and artificial lakes. The mains rivers are: River Vardar 20.535 km2, River Crn Drim 3.350 km2, River Strumica .535 km2, Dojran Lake 120 km2, River Lebnicka 129 km2, River Binacka Morava 44 km2. SERBIA Spanning over 588 kilometers across Serbia, the Danube river is the largest source of fresh water. Other main rivers are Sava, Morava, Tizsa, Drina and Ibar. Almost all of Serbias rivers drain to the Black sea, trough the Danube river.

Ohrid Lake Belgrade, Serbia

What we have learned about water in each country:

ROMANIA Over 69% of the insufficiently treated waste water is from municipalities, about 8% from the chemical industry and 6% from the extraction industry. Danube is the second largest river of Europe connecting many european countries. BULGARIA Percentage of water use in Bulgaria:

Danube, Romania Bulgaria

Water facts 1
Roughly 70 percent of an adults body is made up of water! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 At birth, water accounts for approximately 80 percent of an infants body weight.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A healthy person can drink about three gallons (48 cups) of water per day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication occurs when. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain. Water intoxication is most likely to occur during periods of intense athletic performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 While the daily recommended amount of water is eight cups per day, not all of this water must . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 be consumed in the liquid form. Nearly every food or drink item provides some water to the body. Soft drinks, coffee, and tea, while made up almost entirely of water, also contain caffeine. Caffeine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 can act as a mild diuretic, preventing water from traveling to necessary locations in the body.

10

Water Facts 2
Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Pure water (solely hydrogen and oxygen atoms) has a neutral pH of 7, which is neither acidic nor basic. Somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of the earths surface is covered with water. Of all the water on the earth, humans can used only about three tenths of a percent of this water. Such usable water is found in groundwater aquifers, rivers, and freshwater lakes. The total amount of water on the The earth is a closed system, similar to a earth is about 326 million cubic miles terrarium, meaning that it rarely loses of water. or gains extra water. Much more fresh water is stored under the The weight a person loses directly after inground in aquifers than on the earths sur- tense physical activity is weight from water, face. not fat. The United States uses about 346,000 By the time a person feels thirsty, his or million gallons of fresh water every day. her body has lost over 1 percent of its The average person in the United States uses total water amount. anywhere from 80-100 gallons of water per The same water that existed on the earth milday. Flushing the toilet actually takes up the lions of years ago is still present today. largest amount of this water.

11

So lets save water!

COUPLE OF SIMPLY WAYS TO SAVE WATER:

FIX THE DRIP! TAKE SHOWER NOT BATH! TURN OF THE TAP WHEN YOU BRUSH TEETH! WASHING YOUR CAR WITH A BUCKET AND SPONGE INSTEAD OF A HOSE SAVES A LOT OF WATER! KEEP A JUG OF WATER IN A FRIDGE! ONLY USE THE DISHWASHER WHEN IS FULLY LOADED! DONT`T USE MORE WATER THAN YOU NEED TO BOIL THE KATTLE!

12

A picture is worth A thousand words

PHOTO SESSION:

13

About Argonauta
ARGONAUTA is... association for nature and enviroment conservation and sustainable development promotion.

ARGONAUTAS VISION is... satisfied people as a part of an active community that manages its own resources with the respect of sustainable development principles.

ARGONAUTAS MISION is... contributing to sustainable development of the community through conservation and promotion of heritage, encouragement of civil activism and multi-stakeholder cooperation and development of social enterprise.

14

BYE, BYE FOLKS! See you again!

This project has been implemented by the NGO: Association for Nature and Environment Conservation and Sustainable Development Pijaca Drutva seoske izobraenosti bb, 22243 MURTER, CROATIA www.argonauta.hr tel/fax: +385 (0)22 434 827; mob: +385 (0)91 403 3033
This booklet has been developed as a result from the project Lets save Water - Lets save our Future implemented under the Youth in Action Programme, Action 3.1 Youth exchange with the Neighbouring countries.

Argonauta