Giving Compass' Take:

• Google and the United Nations Environment Program are partnering to track and manage world water loss by using geospatial map data.

• The companies are planning to make a tool that will gather the data and showcase it to the public so that everyone can see updated maps of water loss around the world. How will making the public aware of the problem help drive change?

• Read about the role of philanthropists in the water crisis.

Google and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) are teaming up to help track and prevent the loss of the world’s water.

The tech company will combine over three decades of geospatial and map data to show how human activity has impacted global ecosystems and use this information to help countries manage future losses.

The initiative will allow governments, NGOs, and the public to track the world’s progress toward achieving the environment-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through an online platform that will launch in October.

By using artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Google will help stitch together the massive amount of data collected over the past three decades to create an interactive tool that will allow users to see changes in the environment over time.

“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said in a press statement.

The Google and UNEP initiative hopes to make that data available to bolster efforts to prevent water loss and combat the effects of climate change.

Initially, the project will focus on fresh water ecosystems, which can range from lakes found on glaciers to wetlands and rivers. These ecosystems account for only 0.01% of the world’s total surface area but are home to 10% of the world’s known species. The growing loss of fresh water means these ecosystems are now among the most threatened.

Read the full article about fighting world water loss by Jasper Lo at Global Citizen