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About World Water Day...
The
goal for World Water Day 2003 is to inspire worldwide political and
community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need
for more responsible water use and conservation.
The
theme for this year�s event is �Water for the Future�, calling on one and
all to observe sustainable approaches to water use for the benefit of
future generations.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the lead UN agency for
World Water Day 2003, aims to work with governments and key partners
worldwide to plan events that achieve this end.
It
is notable that World Water day, this year, coincides with celebrations
marking 2003 as the
International Year of Fresh Water.
The United Nations General Assembly
designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water
by adopting resolution (A/res/47/193).
Water is a basic requirement for all life, yet water resources are
facing increasing demands from, and competition among, users. In 1992 the
UN General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for
Water by adopting at its Forty-Seventh Session the following Resolution
(A/RES/47/193 of 22 February 1993).
Recalling the relevant provisions of chapter 18 of Agenda 21, adopted
by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Considering that the extent to which water resource development
contributes to economic productivity and social well-being is not widely
appreciated, although all social and economic activities rely heavily on
the supply and quality of fresh water,
Considering also that, as populations and economic activities grow,
many countries are rapidly reaching conditions of water scarcity or facing
limits to economic development,
Considering further that the promotion of water conservation and
sustainable management requires public awareness at local, national,
regional and international levels,
- Decides to declare 22 March of each year World Day for Water, to be
observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development contained in
chapter 18 of Agenda 21;
- Invites States to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national
context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public
awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the
organisation of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions
related to the conservation and development of water resources and the
implementation of the recommendations of Agenda 21;
- Invites the Secretary-General to make recommendations on ways and
means by which the United Nations Secretariat could, within existing
resources and without prejudice to ongoing activities, assist countries
in organising their national activities for the observance of World Day
for Water;
- Requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements in
order to ensure the success of the observance of World Day for Water by
the United Nations;
- Also requests the Secretary-General to focus observance of World Day
for Water by the United Nations on a particular theme relating to the
conservation of water resources;
- Recommends that the Commission on Sustainable Development, in the
execution of its mandate, attach priority to the implementation of
chapter 18 of Agenda 21.
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The Executive Summary of the UN World Water Development Report is
available online...
 Why Water is the Big
Issue
� at any given moment almost half the developing world's people are
sick from unsafe water and sanitation.
� lack of water supply and sanitation robs millions of dignity,
energy, and time.
� frequent disease is the main cause of poor growth and early death.
� for a third of the world the real environmental crisis is squalor,
smells and disease on the doorstep.
� half of the developing world�s hospital beds are occupied by
victims of unsafe water and poor sanitation.
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