Learning about World Water Day 2024: Important facts about significance, history, and theme
World Water Day is celebrated every year to spread awareness about the importance of freshwater. Check the theme, significance and history in this article.
Today marks the annual celebration of World Water Day – a day dedicated to spreading awareness of the importance of freshwater. The United Nations publishes its flagship report on water and sanitation every year on this day. The report focuses on a different theme each year and gives policy recommendations to decision-makers by offering best practices and in-depth analysis. In line with Sustainable Development Goal 6, the report emphasises clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Theme of World Water Day 2024:
Notably, World Water Day 2024 is being celebrated under the theme ‘Water for Peace’. According to the UN, the theme symbolises uniting around water and using water for peace. It says that when countries come together and cooperate for water, it fosters harmony, generates prosperity, and builds resilience to shared challenges. Therefore, it is integral to understand that water is not just a resource, rather it is a human right.
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Significance:
Needless to say, even as water is the most essential component of life, a large population of people continues to reel under an acute shortage of water. As per the UN, 2.2 billion still live without safely managed drinking water, including 115 million people who drink surface water. Moreover, about half of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year. It is therefore cited by the UN that there is an urgent need for countries to unite around protecting and conserving water.
History:
The idea of World Water Day was proposed in the year 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro. It was in 1993 when the UNGA declared March 22 as World Water Day.
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