World Water Day

World Water Day

"World Water Day" is another festival established by mankind at the end of the 20th century.

The origin of World Water Day

Water is an important natural resource and environmental element that all life depends on for survival and is indispensable and irreplaceable for social and economic development. However, the rapid development of population growth, industrial and agricultural production activities and urbanization in modern society have had a huge impact on limited water resources and water environment. Globally, water pollution, the rapid increase in water demand, and irrational utilization caused by competitive development among departments have further caused water shortages and worsened the water environment, seriously affecting social and economic development and threatening humankind. well-being.

In order to arouse public awareness of water and establish a more comprehensive system for sustainable utilization of water resources and corresponding operating mechanisms, on January 18, 1993, the 47th United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Environment and The recommendations put forward in the "21st Century Action Agenda" formulated by the Development Conference passed Resolution 193, which determined that March 22 of each year will be designated as "World Water Day" starting from 1993 to promote the comprehensive management of water resources. comprehensive planning and management, strengthen water resource protection, and solve the increasingly severe water shortage problem. At the same time, we will conduct extensive publicity and education activities to enhance public awareness of the development and protection of water resources.

The General Assembly recalls the relevant provisions of Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development; considering that although all social and economic activities are greatly dependent on the supply and quality of fresh water , but people have not generally recognized the role that water resources development plays in increasing economic productivity and improving social welfare; it is also considered that with population growth and economic development, many countries will soon fall into the dilemma of water shortage, and economic development will be affected. Limitations; further taking into account that promoting the protection and sustainable management of water requires public awareness at local, national, regional and international levels.

1. According to the recommendations made in Chapter 18 of "Agenda 21", March 22 of each year has been designated as "World Water Day" since 1993.

2. Countries are invited to develop some specific activities on this day based on their respective national conditions on water resources protection and development and the implementation of the recommendations of "Agenda 21", such as publishing and distributing publicity. products, hold conferences, round tables, seminars, exhibitions, etc. to raise public awareness.

3. Request the Secretary-General to make suggestions for the United Nations Secretariat to help countries organize "World Water Day" activities in any way and method to the best of their ability under current conditions and without affecting current activities, Focus on a specific topic related to water resources protection, make necessary arrangements, and ensure the success of the activity.

4. It is recommended that the Commission on Sustainable Development give priority to the implementation of Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 when performing its tasks.

The purpose of World Water Day

1. Address issues related to drinking water supply

2. Promote public awareness of the importance of protecting water resources and drinking water supplies awareness of gender

3. Strengthen the participation and cooperation of governments, international organizations, non-governmental agencies and the private sector by organizing World Water Day activities

Establishing the background of World Water Day

The establishment of "World Water Day" has a background: all social and economic activities greatly rely on the supply and quality of fresh water, but people do not generally realize that water resources development has a significant impact on improving economic productivity and improving society. The role of welfare; with population growth and economic development, many countries will fall into water shortages and economic development will be restricted; promoting water protection and sustainable management requires local levels, national levels, interregional, and international public awareness.

Global water resources situation

Water is a precious resource on which human beings depend for survival and development. Although the earth is "three-thirds land and seven-quarters water", with a total water resource of 1.4 billion cubic kilometers, ocean salt water accounts for 97.2%, fresh water only accounts for 2.8%, and the reserves are only 370 billion cubic meters. Most of it is contained in the Antarctic ice sheets and Arctic icebergs. The surface fresh water that can be used by human production and life is only 105 trillion cubic meters.

Since the 1990s, the world's freshwater resources have become increasingly scarce, pollution has become more serious, and flood and drought disasters have become more severe, destroying the balance and stability of the earth's ecosystem and directly threatening human survival and development.

With the growth of population and economic development, human demand for water is growing faster and faster. Many countries are trapped in water shortage dilemma and economic development is also restricted. However, the multi-sectoral nature of water resources development means that various departments have different policies on water resources development and management, which hinders the comprehensive utilization of water resources and intensifies the contradiction between water supply and demand.

As of March 1994, approximately 1 billion people lacked adequate supply of clean drinking water. Worldwide, between 6,000 and 35,000 children die every day from lack of drinking water or the consequences of water shortages, with the situation most severe in Africa.

On the other hand, people are not generally aware of the seriousness of the damage to water resources caused by human activities. In order to promote comprehensive overall planning and management of water resources, strengthen the protection of water resources, and solve increasingly serious water problems, not only technical measures are needed, but also social publicity and education must be paid attention to. In addition to strengthening water resources management in terms of policies, laws, and management systems, publicity and education must also be carried out to increase public awareness of water conservation. It is for the above reasons that the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Chapter 18 of "Protecting the Quality and Supply of Freshwater Resources: An Integrated Approach to the Development, Management and Utilization of Water Resources" of "Agenda 21" The recommendations of the "World Water Day" were determined to make the whole world care about and solve water resources problems. People must be soberly aware that a water crisis is likely to come sooner than a food or oil crisis.

my country's water resources situation

There are two major problems with "water" in our country: one is water shortage, and the other is serious water pollution.

According to data, my country is a country suffering from severe drought and water shortage. Per capita freshwater resources are only 1/4 of the world average, ranking 110th in the world, and one of the countries with the poorest per capita water resources in the world. The per capita available water resource is only 900 cubic meters, and its distribution is extremely uneven. At the end of the 20th century, more than 400 of the more than 600 cities in the country suffered from insufficient water supply. Among them, 110 cities suffered from serious water shortages. The total urban water shortage across the country was 6 billion cubic meters.

According to monitoring, the national wastewater discharge increased from 31.5 billion tons in 1980 to 63.1 billion tons in 2002. Groundwater in most cities is polluted to a certain extent, and the pollution is getting worse year by year. Increasingly serious water pollution not only reduces the use function of water bodies and further aggravates the contradiction of water shortage, but also seriously threatens the drinking water safety and health of urban residents.

In order to alleviate the severe water situation: First, water conservation is a priority. This is mainly reflected in controlling demand and creating a water-saving society. In the process of national development, we should choose appropriate development projects, establish the concept of "how much water can be used to do as many things as possible", and eliminate the waste of water resources. At the same time, good management and technical means need to be adopted to improve water resource utilization. Actively develop water-saving industrial and agricultural technologies, vigorously promote the application of water-saving appliances, and discover and eliminate water leaks, including leaks in water-using appliances and water delivery pipe networks.

The second is to control pollution. This requires that my country's water pollution prevention and control strategy should be adjusted as soon as possible, from terminal treatment to source control and full-process control. Qian Yi believes that there are still a large number of industrial enterprises in our country that still follow an extensive production model, and industrial wastewater treatment is not ideal. Even if discharge standards are achieved, a large amount of pollutants are still discharged into rivers and lakes, and the degree of pollution has exceeded The environmental capacity of rivers and lakes themselves. With the development of the economy, the discharge of industrial wastewater will continue to grow, and pollutants will also increase. If we vigorously promote cleaner production and implement source control and full-process control of pollutant emissions, pollutant emissions will be significantly reduced, and industrial production can increase production without increasing pollution.

The third is open source through multiple channels. This mainly refers to the development of non-traditional water resources. Qian Yi pointed out that in order to improve water supply capacity, in the past, the main focus was on the development of traditional water resources, that is, the development of local surface water and groundwater. When it was discovered that groundwater levels continued to decline and surface water gradually dried up, long-distance water transfer was considered. In addition to requiring very expensive infrastructure investment and operating costs, long-distance water transfer also faces difficulties in construction and management. At the same time, ecological impact has become another important issue that people are concerned about in recent years. Countries around the world are now turning to the development of non-traditional water resources. Non-traditional water resources include: rainwater, recycled sewage, seawater, and airborne water resources.

According to reports, my country’s current industrial water reuse rate is only 60%, and urban wastewater is almost non-existent.

The utilization of urban wastewater in Israel reaches 90%, and Los Angeles in the United States also uses treated urban wastewater to irrigate green spaces. The reuse of urban wastewater not only reduces pollution, but also alleviates water shortages. In addition, with the advancement of technology, the cost of seawater desalination has become lower, and seawater can be directly used as industrial cooling water and flushing water. Many public health places in Hong Kong use sea water for flushing.

Since the promulgation of the "National Water Law of the People's Republic of China" in 1988, the water administrative department of the Chinese government has determined July 1st to 7th every year as "China Water Week". Considering that the purpose and content of "World Water Day" and "China Water Week" are basically the same, starting from 1994, the time of "China Water Week" was changed to March 22-28 every year to further enhance the whole society's concern about water. , cherish water, protect water and water hazard awareness, and promote the development, utilization, protection and management of water resources.

Themes of previous "World Water Day":

The theme of 1995 is: "women and water";

The theme of 1996 is: "water for thirsty cities";

The theme of 1997 is: "water scarcity";

The theme of 1998 The theme is: "Ground water -- invisible resource";

The theme of 1999 is: "We (human beings) will always live in a state of water shortage" (everyone lives downstream);

The theme of 2000 is: "water and health";

The theme of 2001 is: "Water for the 21st Century" (water for the 21st century);

The theme of 2002 is: "water for development";

The theme of 2003 is: "Water - the future of mankind" ( water for the future);

The theme of 2004 is: "water and disasters";

The theme of 2005 is: "water for life" for life);

The theme of 2006 is: "water and culture";

The theme of 2007 is: "Water Conservancy Development and Harmonious Society"

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