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An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first World Water Day. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater.
The theme for 2015 is Water and Sustainable Development. According to the UN-Water, under this theme “Water and Sustainable Development,” the year 2015 provides an important opportunity to consolidate and build upon the previous World Water Days to highlight water’s role in the sustainable development agenda.
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UN-Water is the United Nations interagency coordination mechanism for all freshwater-related issues, including sanitation. In 2010, the United Nations declared the human right to drinking water and sanitation.
According to documents provided by the UN-Water, events for 2015 include a high-level World Water Day celebration in New Delhi, India, on March 20 and the release worldwide of a short film as well as a website that explains the relationship between water and sustainable development. In addition, World Water Week will be held in late August and other high-level events are planned throughout the year in addition to the thousands of events held by citizens around the world.
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Themes for recent World Water Days include:
2014 Water and Energy: In 2014, the UN worked on bringing the world’s attention to the water-energy nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for the billion people in the world who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and do not have access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, or sufficient food and energy services. Particular attention was paid to identifying best practices that can make a water- and energy-efficient ‘Green Industry’ a reality.
2013 Water and Cooperation: UN-Water initiated projects in 2013 focused on the idea that water has no political boundaries. According to UN-Water, nearly 450 agreements on international waters were signed between 1820 and 2007. Cooperation is going to be increasingly important as worldwide population grows. UN figures cite that 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.
2012 Water and Food Security: Activities in 2012 focused on coping with population growth and ensuring access to nutritious food to everyone. Programs promoted sustainable diets; the consumption of less water intensive practices; reducing food waste; and producing more food of better quality with less water.
If you are interested in more information about World Water Day, contact UN-Water’s Daniella Bostrom Couffe.