HeadsUp Newsletter - Vol 4:03: March 2007

“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking-water, sanitation and basic health care.”
Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water. It is held each year on the 22nd March, in an effort to raise global awareness of the growing situation suffered by so many. Unfortunately, World Water Day is still a relatively unknown event, despite having been created as a result of discussions at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

UN-Water is made up of the UN assembly along with various partners and stakeholders from public and private sectors and civil society. Thanks to the Starbucks Company, WWD found its place on the global map of awareness in 2006.

Each year UN-Water chooses a different theme upon which to focus the World’s attention. Last year the theme of ‘Water and Culture’ aimed to enlighten people to the fact that there are a multitude of ways to view, celebrate and use water throughout the World’s countries and cultures. Water, being regarded as the source of life, is a common theme of sanctity across a great many diverse religions, and as such it is used in ceremonies and rituals across the globe… whether the water used is potable or otherwise!

This year the focus is on coping with water scarcity. Despite three quarters of the Earth being covered by water, only a fraction of it is available as freshwater. The demand for consumable water is growing daily and with the global population expected to reach over 8 billion by 2030, the situation is only getting more critical that we address it now.

 During the last century, the global demand has been growing almost exponentially, at twice the rate of population increase. Today, two people out of every five lack proper sanitation facilities and access to safe drinking water on a daily basis. Sadly, as a direct result, 3800 children die every day from diseases associated with consuming dirty and contaminated water.

Water scarcity usually stems from water shortages and countries most prone to this are arid and semi-arid regions which frequently suffer from droughts and wide climate diversity. Irrigation for crops and livestock is the largest consumer of water in these countries and globally account for about 70% of freshwater consumed. Because of this, agriculture is the first sector affected by scarcity. The imbalance between demand and availability is an issue which calls for action on a global scale, because water is fundamental to life.

To read about the various plans of action that UN-Water is putting in place, please visit these sites
http://www.worldwaterday.org/
http://www.worldwaterday.net/
http://www.unwater.org/wwd07