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World Day for Water March 26th, 2009
To underscore both the potential dangers of “water wars” in places that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population – and the promising opportunities for cooperation and development – the United Nations marked the World Day for Water on 22 March with a focus on trans-boundary waters and their management.
“The amount of water we have has remained constant for thousands of years, while the number and types of users have increased massively… population growth, urbanization, land use changes, and global warming … are creating competing pressures on this finite resource,” says UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in his remarks marking World Water Day. “As a result, the amount of water available for each person is increasingly unequal, and diminishing dramatically.”
This year’s theme, “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities,” aims to explore opportunities to build trust among countries as they manage their common water resources in ways that promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. Some 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, making them vulnerable to the water-borne illnesses that kill 4,200 children every day.
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