The World Water Day 2023 campaign is now live. This year, the focus of the UN observance is on accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.Currently, the world is seriously off track on SDG 6. The latest data show that governments must work on average four times faster to meet this Goal on time. Dysfunction throughout the water cycle is undermining progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, disasters to peace. Rapid, transformative change is needed and everyone can play their part. Every action – no matter how small – will make a difference. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WorldWaterDay, #22March, #Acceleratingchange
The promises made by individuals on the campaign website will contribute to the Water Action Agenda - a main outcome of the UN 2023 Water Conference, which opens on World Water Day, 22 March 2023.
The global campaign, called Be the change, encourages people to take action in their own lives to change the way they use, consume and manage water.
The Water Action Agenda is a collection of voluntary commitments from governments, companies, organizations, institutions, coalitions and members of the public, designed to deliver rapid progress on internationally-agreed water and sanitation targets, most notably Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): water and sanitation for all by 2030.
United Nations World Water Development Report 2023 -Partnerships and Cooperation for Water.
At current rates of progress, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – water and sanitation for all – will not be achieved by 2030. Accelerated implementation is needed, which depends on the capacity of the world’s organizations and institutions to come together in partnerships and cooperation to rapidly speed up progress.
The UN WWDR will review how the water and sanitation community can cooperate more effectively within itself and with other sectors and realms of decision-making where water is critical for progress, such as health, education, climate change and gender equality.
The UN WWDR is UN-Water’s flagship report on water and sanitation issues, focusing on a different theme each year. The report is published by UNESCO, on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Browse past editions of the UN WWDR and download the 2023 edition on 22 March 2023.
A World Water Day on groundwater would put a spotlight on this invisible resource, enhance knowledge exchange and collaboration and thereby increase the awareness of the importance of taking care of our groundwater.
Groundwater is a vital resource that provides almost half of all drinking water worldwide, about 40% of water for irrigated agriculture and about 1/3 of water required for industry. It sustains ecosystems, maintains the baseflow of rivers and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Groundwater is an important part of climate change adaptation process and is often a solution for people without access to safe water. Despite these impressive facts and figures, invisible groundwater is out of sight and out of mind for most people. Human activities (including population- and economic growth) and climate variability are rapidly increasing the pressure on groundwater resources: serious depletion and pollution problems are reported for many parts of the world.
Held in December 2022, the Summit will use the UN World Water Development Report 2022 as a baseline and the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework to define actions towards more responsible and sustainable use and protection of this vital natural resource. The Summit will unify the statements from all major water-related events in 2021 and 2022 into one comprehensive groundwater message for the UN 2023 Water Conference.
This year, as the UN prepares to adopt a new post-2015
sustainable development agenda in September, World Water Day highlights
the essential and interconnected role of water. We rely on water for
public health and equitable progress, it is essential for food and
energy security, and it underpins the functioning of industries.
The onset of climate change, growing demand on finite water resources
from agriculture, industry and cities, and increasing pollution in many
areas are hastening a water crisis that can only be addressed by
cross-sectoral, holistic planning and policies – internationally,
regionally and globally.
Among the most urgent issues are access to safe drinking water and
sanitation. Despite progress under the Millennium Development Goals,
adopted in 2000, some 750 million people -- more than one in ten of the
world’s population -- remain without access to an improved water supply.
Women and children, in particular, are affected by this lack, as not
only is their health compromised, but considerable hours are wasted in
the unproductive – and sometimes dangerous – business of collecting
water.
The statistics on sanitation are even less encouraging. Some 2.5
billion people still live without improved sanitation, and a billion
people practice open defecation, making sanitation the least successful
area of the MDGs. We cannot achieve a world of dignity, health and
prosperity for all until we address this urgent need.
Our sustainable future is also jeopardized by climate change, which
is why United Nations Member States are working hard towards a
meaningful, universal climate agreement this December in Paris. Over
the coming years, greenhouse gas emissions will have to significantly
decline in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change, which
include changed weather patterns and the threat of water scarcity in
large parts of the world.
To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a
spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and
prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable
future. If we do so, we can end poverty, promote global prosperity and
well-being, protect the environment and withstand the threat of climate
change.
The theme of 2015 it’s about how water links to all areas we need to consider to create the future we want. Learn more about the theme and join the global celebrations by organizing your own event.
Join the 2015 campaign to raise awareness of water and sanitation. You can also contribute on social media though the hashtags #WaterIs and #WorldWaterDay.
Water is at the core of sustainable development. Water resources, and the range of services they provide, underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. From food and energy security to human and environmental health, water contributes to improvements in social well-being and inclusive growth, affecting the livelihoods of billions.
Message 1: water provides a range of benefits and services that are key factors in achieving sustainable development and inclusive growth, that are vital to nearly all forms of economic activity and that underpin the livelihoods of
billions.
Message 2: water resources are renewable but the amounts available at any time or place will reflect the limits of their natural cycle. When managed within these limits, they establish a sustainable basis for development. Exceeding these limits or abusing the resource
through unsustainable growth patterns can undermine development, compromise the health of ecosystems, and impoverish vulnerable communities.
Message 3: water resources and services have been a key factor in the progress made in the last 30 years, contributing to improvements in health, food security, social equity, economic growth and environmental sustainability and playing a role in improving the livelihoods of hundreds of millions lifted out of poverty.Unfortunately, this progress has not been evenly distributed across the globe and much still needs to be done in most places.
Message 4: water management and decisions affecting water will play a key role in addressing the new development challenges of the middle of the 21stcentury, including urbanization, sustainable industrial development and economic growth, eradicating persistent poverty, ensuring food and energy security, responding to new patterns of consumption and conserving threatened ecosystems.
Message 5: the many values and benefits of water resources and the ecosystem services that provide them should be more fully taken into account in the calculation of social and economic costs and benefits of development decisions and investments in water management.
When efficiently and transparently managed, investments in water generate social, economic, financial and other benefits that greatly outweigh its costs
Message 6: water management enhances the security and resilience of and reduces risks faced by vulnerable people and ecosystems threatened by unsustainable = patterns of demand, pollution, changes to climate and land-use patterns and increasing exposure to extreme events.
Message 7: the decisions that determine how water resources are used (or abused) are not made by water managers alone. Progress towards sustainable development thus requires engaging a broader range of political actors–in government, civil society and business–to take account of water in their decision-making processes and responses.
