Documentary 'Waterlanders' shows how climate change causes severe water issues around the world

Floods, extreme droughts and water pollution afflict large parts of the world. People are running away from natural disasters, some parts are washed away by flooding, others hardly receive a drop of water. 90% of all natural disasters worldwide are water-related. Even though these different forms of disasters are very different from each other, they are also interlinked. How that works, is a mystery to most people. Stefan Coppers and Jeannette den Boer, an inquisitive 30-something couple from Amsterdam, decided to make a documentary during their trip around the world. This documentary will address the number one challenge of this century according to the United Nations: Water.

The documentary takes us on a journey in search of answers. Answers to the question, how water challenges are caused and what we can do to make sure that we and our children have a future on Planet Earth. Are there solutions, and if so, which ones? With this documentary, Stefan and Jeannette want to create awareness of the great water challenges to a wider audience.

Sleepovers at the Maasai in Kenya and melting icecaps in Greenland

Almost all continents are explored. We can see how beautiful our planet still is, but at the same time of being affected by the shocking stories about the water issues of this century. Stefan and Jeannette stayed with the Kenyan Maasai for five days, helping them get water for their village. Every day they got up at 6 am, walked to the nearest water basin, and headed back, carrying 10 liters of water on their backs. After three days, they started to get terrible neck pain and feel unclean, however, the only thing they could wash themselves with was a cup of ditchwater – that afterwards was reused for washing clothes. This immense shortage of freshwater is a in stark contrast to the melting icecaps that Stefan and Jeannette visited in Greenland. The ice is melting at a frightening rate, leading to rising sea levels. A problem that especially for the Netherlands, with a large area below sea level, is very severe.

Jeannette and Stefan gave up their jobs (as congress organizer and tv-maker) to travel around the world to the parts where water issues are most pressing. Besides Kenya and Greenland they also traveled to Miami, Mexico City and Jordan. The coming months they will also visit Vietnam, China, India and Kirabati – an exotic island state in the Pacific ocean that will drown first as a result of the rising sea level.

In the Netherlands, clean water comes out of the tap. A fact that all of the sudden seems like a godsend after their visit to the Maasai in Kenya. The Maasai women are spending half a day only collecting water! Every day again.

Are you curious about the experiences of Jeannette and Stefan? As from 4 February, the documentary Waterlanders is broadcasted weekly on the website of AD.tv ().