Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Fresh water is an essential source of life and a pillar of good health – yet only 3% of the water on Earth is fresh. People have gone to war over drinkable water, and perhaps in the future, we may even travel to space for it.
Curator Janice Li highlights the vital role of freshwater in shaping health and ecosystems and the consequences mismanagement has had on communities, ancient societies, as well as ecological solutions used to regenerate uninhabitable regions.
0:00: Intro
0:15: Going to war over water: conflict and diplomacy in ancient Mesopotamia
01:44: How recording melting ice glaciers helped artist Susan Schuppli understand freshwater systems, climate change and the impact of glacial loss on communities
03:38: Going back to our roots: the traditional ecological knowledge that is being used to regenerate Iraq's uninhabitable marshes
05:20: What might the most extreme search for water look like – could it take us to space?
06:40: Conclusion
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#water #freshwater #environmentalawareness #environmentalimpact #environment #environmentalprotection #ecology #ecologyandenvironment #iraq #sumerianhistory #gilgamesh #ancienthistory #marshes #glaciers #communitybuilding
Fresh water is an essential source of life and a pillar of good health – yet only 3% of the water on Earth is fresh. People have gone to war over drinkable water, and perhaps in the future, we may even travel to space for it.
Curator Janice Li highlights the vital role of freshwater in shaping health and ecosystems and the consequences mismanagement has had on communities, ancient societies, as well as ecological solutions used to regenerate uninhabitable regions.
0:00: Intro
0:15: Going to war over water: conflict and diplomacy in ancient Mesopotamia
01:44: How recording melting ice glaciers helped artist Susan Schuppli understand freshwater systems, climate change and the impact of glacial loss on communities
03:38: Going back to our roots: the traditional ecological knowledge that is being used to regenerate Iraq's uninhabitable marshes
05:20: What might the most extreme search for water look like – could it take us to space?
06:40: Conclusion
Follow us on our other channels:
Instagram: instagram.com/wellcomecollection
TikTok: tiktok.com/@wellcomecollection
Facebook: facebook.com/wellcomecollection
Threads: threads.net/@wellcomecollection
#water #freshwater #environmentalawareness #environmentalimpact #environment #environmentalprotection #ecology #ecologyandenvironment #iraq #sumerianhistory #gilgamesh #ancienthistory #marshes #glaciers #communitybuilding



![What can a garden in Brazil tell us about escape and freedom?
Quilombos - ‘freed villages’ - were established by people who escaped enslavement over 400 years ago. In the communal gardens that grow in quilombos today, ancestral knowledge and traditions have been preserved by their descendants. Curator Cindy Sissokho tells us more. Our free exhibition ‘Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights’ is open until 27 April.
Credit: The Book of Landscapes (Livro da Paisagens)
Maria Floriza Veríssimo 2020 / 2024
Prints on Tyvek paper
Courtesy of Maria Floriza Veríssimo]
See us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/wellcomecollection
#history #plants #ancestors #art What can a garden in Brazil tell us about escape and freedom?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vy3puX50n-o/mqdefault.jpg)






