World Day for Water

In 1993 the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 as World Day for Water (also known as World Water Day).

This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Observance began in 1993 and has grown significantly ever since.

In 2005, marked the start of the second UN International Decade for Action for Water. Also called Water for Life Decade 2005-2015. This is in coordination with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) coordinated the World Day of Water in 2006 with the theme: Water and Culture. While in 2007, the theme was "Coping with Water Scarcity" in coordination with FAO.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) helps in promoting clean water and sustainable aquatic habitats. With this, they used World Day for Water to have the public be aware about the critical water issues of our era. NGO's and other agencies joined in getting the public be aware of issues like there are a billion people who have no access to safe water for drinking and the role of gender in family access to safe water.

Today, March 22, 2009 marks another World Day for Water. The ICRC calls the attention of the governments to ensure safe water and decent sanitation for civilians in conflict zones. It is said that many die because of diseases that is from unsafe water that people take in. We are lucky that we have safe drinking water. Whenever we do not use water properly, think of those people who don't have enough water to take in order to keep them hydrated and for those who are sick and dying due to not able to drink clean or fresh water. As they said, we cannot eat on bread alone, we need water to sustain our bodies and not be dehydrated especially now that we are having global warming.

Here are some photos I found on the internet.

Children carry home water collected from a roadside tap in an impoverished neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, March 20, 2009. There is no direct supply of potable water at homes in most of the poor neighborhoods, and people residing there depend on regulated supply of water from public taps erected on roadsides, with a single tap catering to hundreds of households.

A boy drinks water from a roadside tap in Amritsar, India, Friday, March 20, 2009, ahead of World Water Day. There is no direct supply of potable water at homes in most of the poor neighborhoods and people have to depend on regulated supply of water from public taps erected on roadsides, with a single tap catering to hundreds of households.





A young girl fills a bucket with water from a public tap in Amritsar, India, Friday, March 20, 2009, ahead of World Water Day. There is no direct supply of potable water at homes in most of the poor neighborhoods and people have to depend on regulated supply of water from public taps erected on roadsides, with a single tap catering to hundreds of households.

People fill water from pipes on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, India, Saturday, March 21, 2009. World Water Day will be celebrated Sunday.

"Conserve Water!"

Sources: World Water Day , Wikipedia