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Freshwater Challenge gains major funding as membership reaches 50

The Freshwater Challenge celebrated major milestones at the One Water Summit in Saudi Arabia, held during the UN Convention to Combat Desertification COP16 in Riyadh, securing catalytic funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). 

The Freshwater Challenge reached 50 members after Kazakhstan and Australia officially joined the world’s largest ever freshwater restoration and protection initiative which will accelerate action by addressing some of the most critical needs and challenges identified by the member countries.

The Freshwater Challenge is a country-led initiative that aims to leverage the support needed to conserve the intact freshwater ecosystems and bring 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands under restoration by 2030.  

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