Climate change is already having a serious impact on low-lying islands such as Kiribati, which is why the Australian government is helping the tiny Pacific nation to preserve its shrinking fresh water resources and adapt to face an uncertain future.

Hydroelectric projects are popular in developing countries. They are clean, renewable sources of energy. But building dams also means flooding valleys and destroying the homes and livelihoods of local people. In Indonesia, a pioneering program is turning this notion on its head, transforming new lakes into lucrative sources of income, and allowing displaced former farmers to become successful fishermen.

One mile long and 600 feet high, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is an enormous feat of engineering, with huge controversies to match. Completed in 2008, the dam created a vast reservoir extending 370 miles. It provides drinking water and electricity, but it has also displaced some two million people and caused widespread flooding, destroying rural villages and cultural treasures. In this film, we meet some of the people whose lives have been affected.

When a new water well and rainwater harvesting tank are built at Kwihala village and Isukamahela School in Tanzania, the villagers are taught how to manage and look after them, a key component for empowering them towards self-sufficiency.