March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day. This year to it will be celebrated to create awareness on Water, Its importance and significance.
World Water Day History
World Water Day was first adopted on December 22, 1992 by United Nation General Assembly and March 22 was declared as World Water Day. It is celebrated around the world since 1993.
World Water Day Theme
This year theme for the World Water Day is “Valuing Water”. The reason for this theme is to create awareness on value of water during this climate change period. We all are aware of the difficulties in getting clean and safe water. So its our responsibility to take in consideration and value the water which we get and save it.
The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment.
United Nations Website – unwater.org
World Water Day in India
In India, Prime Minister Modi will launch a campaign known as ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’. The tagline for this campaign is “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” . This campaign emphasizes the need of rainwater harvesting.
10 Key Facts On World Water Day
Source: unwater.org
- Today 1 in 3 people or 2.2 billion people around the world lack safe drinking water. (WHO/UNICEF 2019)
- Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. (WHO 2019)
- Over half of the global population or 4.2 billion people lack safe sanitation. (WHO/UNICEF 2019)
- 2 out of 5 people or 3 billion people around the world lack basic handwashing facilties at home. (WHO/UNICEF 2019)
- 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas with high to very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people – roughly one-sixth of the world’s population – live in severely water-constrained agricultural areas. (FAO, 2020)
- It is estimated that by 2040, one in four of the world’s children under 18 – some 600 million in all – will be living in areas of extremely high water stress. (UNICEF, 2017)
- Climate change is projected to increase the number of water-stressed regions and exacerbate shortages in already water-stressed regions. (United Nations, 2020)
- 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030. (Global Water Institute, 2013)
- By 2050, rising populations in floodprone lands, climate change, deforestation, loss of wetlands and rising sea levels are expected to increase the number of people vulnerable to flood disaster to 2 billion. (UNESCO, 2012)
- Women and girls are responsible for water collection in 8 out of 10 households with water off premises, which means reducing the population with limited drinking water services will have a strong gender impact. (WHO and UNICEF, 2017)
World Water Day Previous Themes
- 2022: World Water Day – Groundwater
- 2021: World Water Day – Valuing water
- 2020: Launch of the SDG 6 Take Action campaign.
- 2020: World Water Day – Climate Change
- 2019: World Water Day – Leaving No One Behind (Human Rights and Refugees)
- 2018: World Water Day – Nature for Water
- 2018: Launch of the Water Action Decade 2018-2028
- 2017: World Water Day – Wastewater
- 2016: World Water Day – Water and Jobs
- 2015: World Water Day – Water and Sustainable Development
- 2014: World Water Day – Water and Energy
- 2013: World Water Day – Water Cooperation
- 2012: World Water Day – Water and Food Security
- 2011: World Water Day – Water for Cities
- 2010: World Water Day – Water Quality
- 2009: World Water Day – Transboundary Waters
- 2008: World Water Day – International Year of Sanitation
- 2007: World Water Day – Water Scarcity
- 2006: World Water Day – Water and Culture
- 2005: World Water Day – Water for Life 2005-2015
- 2004: World Water Day – Water and Disasters
- 2003: World Water Day – Water for the Future
- 2002: World Water Day – Water for Development
- 2001: World Water Day – Water for Health, Taking Charge
- 2000: World Water Day – Water for the 21st Century
- 1999: World Water Day – Everyone lives downstream
- 1998: World Water Day – Groundwater, the invisible resource
- 1997: World Water Day – The World’s Water, Is There Enough?
- 1996: World Water Day – Water for Thirsty Cities
- 1995: World Water Day – Women and Water
- 1994: World Water Day – Caring for Water Resources is Everybody’s Business
