World Water Day

 

Water Scarcity: An Impending Global Crisis

Do you know that every eight seconds, a child under the age of five dies due to diseases related to contaminated water? Water is a resource that many of us take for granted and it is running out very quickly. If we keep going on with the negligent attitude that many of us have, all the freshwater in the world is expected to run out by 2040, which is just 18 years from now.

World Water Day, celebrated on the 22nd of March every year was introduced, for the purpose of raising awareness regarding the dire need of conserving this vital resource. Originally celebrated to spread awareness about fresh water, in recent years, with the global water crisis soon approaching us, it also seeks to raise awareness about the sustainable management of all water resources.

Some other especially important topics raised on World Water Day also include the scarcity of water, rising levels of water pollution in the oceans, a lack of sanitation in the underdeveloped and 3rd world countries and the impacts of climate change on the upcoming water crisis on the world. 

 

What is Done to Observe This Day

The convener of the World Water Day, is the UN Organization named “United Nation – Water”. The organization’s main job is to co-ordinate all the other water issues running through the various organs of the UN, and making sure the UN family “delivers as one” on such issues. Depending on the UN theme of the day, the UN – Water campaigns are led by one or more of their members and partners with a related mandate.

Non-Government organizations, active in sanitation and water scarcity sectors, such as UNICEF, WaterAid, use the day to get media attention, raise awareness for all the issues mentioned above, and inspire action all around the world. They have released publications and films, and organized various round tables, seminars and expositions.

End Water Poverty, a global civil society coalition with 250 partner organizations, sponsors Water Action month every year, and offers an event-planning guidebook to people willing to plan events around World Water  Day. The UN World Water Development Report is also released each year on Water Day. Information regarding the year’s theme, gives the decision makers proper tools to implement sustainable use of water resources.  More and more initiatives are being spread in the world, regarding water day, and it’s importance in raising awareness of conserving water resources. Michigan State University held a contest for best World Water Day poster in 2017.

History

The day was first proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janerio. In December 1992, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the 22nd March to be Water Day all around the world, and assigns themes to each year.

Some previous themes of World Water Day have been “Water and Climate Change”, “Water and Jobs?”, “Why waste water?”, “Nature for Water” and “Leaving no one Behind”. The themes of Water Day are usually decided keeping the entire world in mind, as the water crisis is a global issue.

Later on in the history of Water Day, other celebrations and events were also added along with Water Day itself. For example, the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere 2013 and the current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028.  

For 2021, UN Water held a celebration to raise awareness about Water Day. Some famous people who spoke included Pope Francis, and the ministers of foreign affairs from the countries of Bolivia, Senegal, Italy, Colombia and Netherlands.

In 2022, the theme of World Water Day is the issue of groundwater, which is an invisible resource, with a visible impact everywhere around us. Groundwater is water found underwater in aquifers. It feeds lakes and rivers, and is recharged by rain and snowfall. Most arid areas of the world depend entirely on groundwater for survival. The 2022 theme says that we must work together to prevent the exploitation of groundwater, and to prevent it from running out.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Water Day also co-relates with some of the Sustainable Development goals, most importantly, Social Development Goal 6: Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All. A lot of the goals of both Water Day and the SDG Goal overlap with each other, and thus can be fulfilled together. The percentage of water which was safely treated went up in 2020-21, reaching 56% overall, thanks to the spread awareness. Some of the goals for both the SDG Goal and Water Day include restoring water-related eco-systems like mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. It also includes expanding international co-operation regarding the global water crisis to prevent it.

Your Role

So what can you do as a normal student to celebrate Water Day? One thing is certain, celebrating Water Day for one day in a year, and then using water recklessly and wasting it for the other 364 days a year cannot be tolerated in a modern world, especially when so many people live in areas with severe water shortages already. The main way to celebrate Water Day is through regularity in conservation of water, instead of raising voice for one day a year. Some easy ways to do this is to bring a single bottle to school every day, instead of bringing plastic bottles everybody. Other easy ways are turning off the faucet while brushing teeth and taking timed showers to conserve water. Remembering that every small action has an effect on the environment is a very important thing to feel included in the fight against water pollution and crisis. You can also spread awareness about Water Day on 22nd March, and water conservation all throughout the year, by writing posts, making tweets or writing in the school newspaper about these issues. Something like a water crisis seems like a huge issue, which is almost impossible to tackle, but small steps are the first steps to tackling such an issue, and Water Day exists to highlight those small steps first and foremost.  

(By Arunava Dutta, Volunteer, Editorial Department, Adolescence Development Club)