World Water Day 2021; March 22

 Statement by the United Nations General Assembly president on World Water Day 2021, March 22nd,

A year ago, as the world began to shut its doors to the global pandemic, one of the messages we heard most was that we must wash our hands.

We were told that this could help stop the spread of COVID-19.
But what of the 3 billion people who still lack access to basic handwashing facilities? What of the healthcare facilities without running water? Sadly, for many around the world, they have had to face the pandemic without access to even these basic, human needs.
We cannot change what has happened, but we can learn from it.
I am proud to say that today, on World Water Day, the UN General Assembly will wrap up a high-level meeting, on water and the Sustainable Development Goals.
We will hear about those who continue to lack access to water; who do not have proper sanitation; who spend countless hours trekking to water sources.
And we will hear of the encouraging and innovative initiatives underway by the UN System and by civil society groups to help address these problems.
This gives me hope.
My friends, we have so much more to do; this problem will not be solved by a meeting – but it also will not be solved by silence.

By talking, by raising the issue and learning from each other, we can continue to work together to truly achieve clean water and sanitation for all.

Volkan Bozkir, U.N.General Assembly President.

FORUM: "Valuing water"is the theme of World Water Day 2021.

UN-Water sets the annual theme. In 2021, the theme is valuing water. In 2022, it will be groundwater. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Join the Conversation #worldwaterday

Water is a unique and non-substitutable resource. As the foundation of life, societies and economies, it carries multiple values and benefits. But unlike most other valuable resources, it has proven extremely difficult to determine its true ‘value’. The 2021 World Water Development Report on “Valuing Water” assesses the current status of and challenges to the valuation of water across differing sectors and perspectives and identifies ways in which valuation can be promoted as a tool help achieve sustainability. The World Water Development Report 2021 will be launched on the occasion of World Water Day, on 22 March 2021.

World Water Day 2014, March 22

Join the Forum : World Water Day - March 22

United Nations Secretary-General’s Message for World Water Day 2014.

Water is at the core of sustainable development.
This year’s observance of World Water Day 2014 focuses on the links between water and energy.
Both are critical for eradicating poverty.
And they interact with each other in ways that can help – or hinder – our efforts to build stable societies and lives of dignity for all.
Climate change driven in great part by the unsustainable use of energy will exacerbate water stress and scarcity in many regions. Efforts to provide universal access to water and energy will be undermined if the current warming trend continues.
The many strong links between water and energy demand coherent, integrated policies and innovative strategies. Water must be used -- and electricity must be generated and distributed -- equitably and efficiently, so all users get a fair share.
These are the goals of the ongoing work of UN-Water and of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.  These issues are also crucially important elements in our discussions on the post-2015 development agenda.
On World Water Day, let us pledge to develop the policies needed to ensure that sustainable water and energy are secured for the many and not just the few.

Ban Ki-moon

UNESCO Director-General's Message for World Water Day 2014 

Water is fundamental to life and is the common denominator of all sustainable development challenges. We need water to produce food and we need water to produce energy. Improving access to freshwater is about enabling millions of girls to go to school instead of walking kilometres to fetch water. It is about improving maternal health, curbing child mortality and preserving the environment.
We need to better understand the complex interactions between resources that are closely interlinked, such as water, food and energy. And we must acknowledge that it is impossible to manage these resources sustainably if we treat them in isolation. Each mode of energy production has implications for the quantity and quality of water available. The choices made in one sector have repercussions on the other, for better and for worse. The World Water Development Report released today confirms, for example, that people who lack electricity are also those who lack water. This is no mere coincidence – water is required to produce energy, and energy is required to sanitize and convey water. Both are essential to human wellbeing and sustainable development.
Sustainability depends on our ability to understand all these connections and to develop more relevant policies that take an integrated approach to interconnected resources. The challenge is all the greater as the demand for water and energy is soaring, particularly in emerging economies, where agriculture, industry and cities are developing at a tremendous pace. We must find ways to ensure access to water and energy in sufficient quantity and quality, in a sustainable way.
Sustainability also requires better cooperation between all water stakeholders – policymakers, scientists and businesses, both public and private, who all too often ignore each other while in reality they depend on each other. The International Year of Water Cooperation in 2013 set important milestones. The initiative on sanitation of Mr Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, also calls for greater collective action for the better management of human waste and wastewater. Poor sanitation has devastating consequences, particularly for children, and the key to the problem includes energy.
There is enough water in the world for everyone. What we continue to lack is better governance and the collective courage to craft fair compromise solutions. These should be based on research results and reliable data. UNESCO will continue to commit its resources to this cause, in particular through our International Hydrological Programme, the Institute for Water Education in Delft, our centres and Chairs specialized in water, and the data from the World Water Assessment Programme, which are all ways of building capacity, carrying out research and sharing good practices. Together, we can better integrate water and sanitation and the link between water and energy as positive levers for sustainable development.

Irina Bokova

Water and Energy Sustainability, Information brief

Securing Access to Water and Energy, Information brief

Water and Energy Efficiency, Information brief

Statement attributable to the President of the General Assembly on World Water Day 2014
On World Water Day, I encourage Member States to make water conservation and the promotion of renewable energy central to our Post-2015 Development Agenda. At the same time, eradicating poverty through sustainable economic growth should remain a top priority. We have witnessed remarkable achievements in this regard in recent years, but much more needs to be done.
It has become clear that in order to eradicate poverty, developing countries need to grow their economies in a sustained and inclusive manner. We all know that industrial development relies heavily on extensive use of resources, including water and energy. Global energy demand is expected to grow by more than one-third by 2035. And developing countries are expected to account for the bulk of this growth. Similarly, global demand for water is projected to increase by roughly fifty percent during the first half of this century. Governments, civil society, and other stakeholders must work together to meet these pressing needs without further depleting the planet's natural resources.
We all now recognize that in order for our Post-2015 Development Agenda to be a success we must find creative solutions that allow economic growth and environmental protection to be mutually supportive rather than mutually exclusive. Let us all renew our commitment to protect the world's water supply—the one natural resource without which no country can flourish.

Connecting Water and Energy.

 The energy and water sectors have different drivers behind decision-making: energy planners are more focused on diversifying sources of producing low-carbon energy, while water managers have to satisfy a diversity of water users including the environment. Cross-sector cooperation and coordination in policies and planning can maximise the supply of one resource while minimising overuse of the other.

Produced by the Global Water Partnership, 2014

 The global goal for water is supported by a coherent, cohesive and mutually reinforcing set of targets that will help countries reach the goal by 2030. To facilitate understanding of the multiple functions water plays in society, the framework is structured into five measurable and interconnected targets. The short versions of these targets are below. Under each link, you will find descriptions of each of the targets and more resource material.



° Target A: Achieve universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene

° Target B: Improve by (x%) the sustainable use and development of water resources in all countries

° Target C: All countries strengthen equitable, participatory and accountable water governance

° Target D: Reduce wastewater pollution and improve water quality by reducing untreated domestic and industrial wastewater by (x%); increasing wastewater reused safely by (y%); and reducing nutrient pollution by (z%) to maximize water resource availability and improve water quality.

° Target E: Reduce mortality by (x%) and economic loss by (y%) from natural and human-induced water- related disasters

A post-2015 Global Goal for Water : Securing Sustainable Water for All

WATER ISSUES AROUND THE WORLD

Where to Look for Success with Water ?

 As part of Bloomberg Businessweek's Fix This franchise, Chief Content Officer Norman Pearlstine sits with a panel of leading experts to discuss ways in which they are meeting the global water challenge.

Special Report

• Fix This/Water
  
• Full Streams, Parched Nations
  
• How the Experts Would Fix the Water Supply
  
• Fix This
  
• Fix This: Meeting the Global Water Challenge
  
• Fix This: Water and the Infrastructure Challenge
  
• Fix This: Water and the Challenge of Jurisdiction
  
• Fix This: Water and International Quality Control
  
• Fix This: Water and the Issue of Hydro-Fracking
  
• Fix This: Water and the Cost of Future Technology
  
• Fix This: The Future Pricing of Water
  
• Fix This: Where to Look for Success with Water
  

   

  Water Quality: An Ignored Global Crisis

  As we mark World Water Day on March 22, it is appropriate to reflect on why a critical problem such as water pollution has disappeared from the global agenda and what that means for our future.

  Ignored for decades, water pollution has increased in both developed and developing countries, undermining economic growth as well as the physical and environmental health and quality of life for billions of people.
  
  The U.S., Canada, and some European countries have made considerable progress in controlling water pollution from domestic and industrial sources. However, much still needs to be done.
  Take the case of London. Its 21,000-kilometer sewer network was a marvel of the Victorian age when it was constructed. The system ensured that water-borne diseases like cholera disappeared. It also relieved the city of unpleasant smells and significantly improved the overall living conditions.
  Some 150 years later, the situation has dramatically changed because of increasing population and lack of investment by successive governments to improve London’s sewage system. Today, when there are 2 millimeters or more of rain in an hour, untreated raw sewage flows into the River Thames. This happens on average once a week. Each year, some 30 million tonnes of raw sewage are discharged into the River Thames.
  
  In America, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 850 billion gallons of untreated discharges flow into water bodies annually, contributing to over 7 million illnesses each year. When there are heavy rains in Washington, D.C., untreated sewage flows into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. Under a federal consent decree, the nation’s capital will spend $2.6 billion to fix the problem—the city’s largest investment since the Metro was constructed.
  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that investments in drinking water and wastewater systems over the 20-year period from 2000-2019, including operation and maintenance costs, are likely to be on the order of $1.41 trillion to $1.96 trillion. Given that society pays the costs of water services either through ratepayers’ bills or federal, state, or local taxes, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. will have the political will to draw attention to this issue and spend the required resources under the current economic and political conditions.
  
  The situation is much worse in developing countries. The Third World Centre for Water Management estimates that only about 10 percent to 12 percent of wastewater in Latin America is properly treated. Mexico City, for example, “exports” its untreated wastewater to the Mezquital Valley. While the local farmers value this because the water increases crop yields, the wastewater is heavily contaminated with pathogens and toxic chemicals, representing a serious health risk for both farmers and consumers of the agricultural products grown in this area. In India, major cities discharge untreated wastewater into the bodies of water that serve as their drinking water. Delhi, for example, discharges wastewater directly into the Yamuna River—the source of drinking water for some 57 million people.
  Even in cities with good wastewater treatment systems, an emerging issue is the presence of man-made substances in our water supply. Increasing use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products has meant that chemicals or “contaminants of emerging concern” have been discovered in water with unknown effects for human and environmental health. An alarming find is intersex fish with both male and female characteristics in a growing number of streams in North America, Western Europe, and Japan immediately below the wastewater treatment plants. We do not know how these contaminants will affect people.
  
  To begin reversing water-quality deterioration on a global level, institutions that can implement the existing and required laws and regulations to solve this extensive problem are desperately needed. Equally important is to convince the general public, as well as politicians, that over a long-term basis it is more cost-effective for a society to live in a clean environment compared with a polluted one. Until and unless the public demands unpolluted waters, it will not be possible to obtain the huge investment that will be needed to improve the quality of our water.
  Water quality is a serious concern in nearly all countries. It is estimated that the total cost of this neglect is already around 3 percent to 5 percent of GDP in certain countries. It is time world leaders recognize the enormity of this problem and start taking the necessary actions.
  Tortajada is president of the Third World Centre for Water Management and past president of the International Water Resources Association. She is co-author of Singapore Water Story: Sustainable Development in an Urban City State. Biswas is the founder of the Third World Centre for Water Management and a distinguished visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. He is co-author of Singapore Water Story: Sustainable Development in an Urban City State.

World Water Day 2012

"Water is Life"

World Water Day - March 22

World Water Day 2011 - Video Contest Entry

Sans titre (clipped to polyvore.com)


° World Water Day - March 22

Fotki.com (clipped to polyvore.com)