world water day

World Water Day is March 22



World Water Day, held on the 22nd of March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme of this year’s World Water Day is Valuing Water. The role of water in households, schools, workplaces, and health care facilities is critical. The value of water became even more apparent when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The World Water Day 2021 campaign focuses on five different perspectives of Valuing Water:

1. Valuing water sources – natural water resources and ecosystems. All water is generated by ecosystems. And all the water we abstract for human use eventually returns to the environment, along with any contaminants we have added.

2. Valuing water infrastructure – storage, treatment, and supply. Water infrastructure stores and moves water to where it is most needed and helps clean and return it to nature after human use. Where this infrastructure is inadequate, socio-economic development is undermined and ecosystems endangered.

3. Valuing water services – drinking water, sanitation, and health services. The role of water in households, schools, workplaces, and health care facilities is critical. Furthermore, WASH – water, sanitation, and hygiene – services add value in the form of greater health, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. Valuing water as an input to production and socio-economic activity – food and agriculture, energy and industry, business, and employment. Agriculture places the biggest demand on global freshwater resources and is a major contributor to environmental degradation.

5. Valuing socio-cultural aspects of water – recreational, cultural, and spiritual attributes. Water can connect us with notions of creation, religion, and community. And water in natural spaces can help us feel at peace.

 

Find out more with the following United Nations Resources:

World Water Day 2021 website:

https://www.worldwaterday.org/

UN World Water Development Report 2021:

https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/world-water-development-report/

UN-Water SDG 6 Data Portal:

https://www.sdg6data.org/