Water sustains all life on Earth. It is vital for all people and ultimately determines our way of life. Providing and sustaining water for the needs of people around the world is already well recognised as a major challenge for sustainable development in most areas in both developed and developing countries.
The ecosystems of our world, but particularly forests and wetlands, ensure that clean water is available to human communities. Water in turn underpins all ecosystem services. Wetlands can help reduce risks from flooding. Restoring soils can reduce erosion and pollution and can increase water available for crops. Protected areas can assist in providing water to cities. These are but a few examples of how ecosystem management can help us solve water-related problems (see diagram below).
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| Conceptual diagram highlighting the value of ecosystem services (Source: UMCES, 2011) |
The topic was chosen to coincide with the United Nations designation of 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation. In reflection of this declaration, World Water Day 2013, held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources, has been dedicated to water cooperation. UNESCO was chosen as the lead agency to promote the global celebrations and to help raise awareness on the critical issues facing water management.
According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP), 37% per cent of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 780 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. For detailed information about the global picture on access to drinking water and sanitation, take a look at JMP's 2012 progress report.
Water, water everywhere? (podcast)
- Can these challenges fuel co-operation rather than competition?
- Are governments doing enough – or too much – to protect resources?
- Should water supply be privatised?
- Is water a commodity or a human right?
It appears to me that World Water Day exists not only as a periodic reminder of the importance of freshwater, which is largely undervalued in the 'developed' parts of the world, yet cherished as gold across most developing nations, but a genuine acknowledgement of the global water crisis and its wider societal implications (e.g. hunger, child mortality, sanitation, education etc).
It's also a day when we should spare a thought for those who have been deprived of water through some form of conflict or violence. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s Water and Habitat Unit, for instance, brings water to people in towns and cities when the normal supply fails. Facing urban challenges, a short film produced by the ICRC, conveys the role of water cooperation for communities around the world hit by crisis, e.g. in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip or in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
