Earth Protect Blog

By David Bois

World Water Day 2010: Everything You Need to Know

the annual UN-sponsored focus on the technical, social, and political challenges and opportunities relating to the world's supply of fresh water.

We rarely give clean water and sanitation a second thought, mostly because our water delivery and treatment systems are so widespread and so dependable that we take them for granted. Writing in Huffington Post , Jonathan Greenblatt reminds us that only 150 short years separate us from a New York City of completely fouled sidewalks, in a condition that we would not recognize today because generations of Americans have enjoyed the benefits of widespread access to water and sanitation. The Pacific Institute's Peter Gleick however, writing from Nairobi, Kenya for the San Francisco Chronicle , reminds us of the shockingly poor access to sanitation and clean water that billions of people continue to confront on a chronic basis.

Improved access to safe drinking water for those in need, protection of clean water supplies and cleaning up the polluted ones, and understanding the potential for international conflict and collaboration over water resources are at the heart of World Water Day , observed annually on March 22. Arising from a proposal made at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and beginning the following year, the United Nations sponsors this annual event "as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources."

With a unique freshwater theme for each year (past World Water Days have centered on groundwater, public health, and urban water needs), the 2010 program , featuring events in Nairobi as well as at the UN's New York headquarters, is designed to highlight water quality challenges and opportunities currently before the world community.

The event website offers an impressive tapestry of background information starting with frequently asked water quality questions and a glossary of terminology, and continuing on to a water quality reader with links to studies and management plans, a guide to action and advocacy, and tips we can implement in our day-to-day lives to help protect this precious resource whether we live in an urban or a rural setting.

Reflecting the anticipated importance that access to safe and secure water supplies will continue to have on international political affairs, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will mark the occasion in a speech Monday at the Washington D.C. headquarters of National Geographic. A State Department press release outlines the implications, and what we stand to gain through awareness and action:

"One out of every six people lacks safe drinking water and two out of every five people lack adequate sanitation. By 2025, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population will be living under water stressed conditions and approximately one billion people will face absolute water scarcity. Implications are widespread ranging from health, gender equity, child survival and education to the environment, poverty and peace and security. World Water Day raises public consciousness of these challenges and seeks to ensure that safe, affordable and sustainable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene is accessible for all people around the world."

Under the banner of "clean water for a healthy world," World Water Day exists to ask us all, as individuals, and as citizens of many nations but of one world, to more thoughtfully and equitably manage this life-critical natural resource.

link to original article: www.tonic.com