The World Health Organization (WHO) defines polluted water as water that undergoes changes in its composition until it becomes unusable. In other words, it is toxic water that can neither be drunk nor used for essential activities such as agriculture, in addition to being a source of unhealthy water that causes more than 500,000 deaths and illnesses per year worldwide.

To understand this situation, we may have to go back to the main causes that have led to water pollution:  Industrial waste, rising temperatures, use of pesticides in agriculture, use of pesticides in agriculture,  deforestation, and oil spills, among others.

In my region, despite having countless water resources, Latin America has a culture of inefficient water use in almost all areas where it is used. The region has a third of the planet's freshwater. However, it is also true that water is unevenly distributed geographically and there is a lack of quality infrastructure in Latin America.

Faced with this problem, there are several young Latin Americans who are fighting for justice and are a great example for us as adults to take action.

• Berta Zúñiga Cáceres

HONDURAS

28 years old

She is currently the general coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. This is an organization for the defense of the environment and the rights of indigenous Lenca people. From her position she has been an activist against hydroelectric projects in Honduras. 

• Daniel Cáceres

PERU

24 years old

Daniel realized that in Peru the ocean is seen as a resource. He has a collective called "Cuidando el mar" (Caring for the Sea), which seeks to disseminate information on marine issues and unite leaders who act for the sea. She also started a chapter of the U.S. organization Sustainable Oceans Alliance in Peru. From there he wants to empower other young people to become marine leaders.

• Bruno Rodríguez 

ARGENTINA

18 years old

He is also a spokesman for Jóvenes por el Clima Argentina, an organization that emerged as a meeting of friends, but they managed to get a unanimous declaration of climate emergency in the country, especially in the rivers, seas and lagoons of indigenous peoples of Argentina.

Education is an essential factor in the increasingly urgent global fight against water pollution. Knowledge related to this phenomenon helps young people to understand and deal with the consequences, encourages them to change their behavior and helps them to adapt to what is already a global emergency.