World Water Day 2021

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“World Water Day is meant to be a call to action. Responsibility lies with all of us. Governments, associations, private partners: we must all recognize the multifold value of water and take action to conserve this basic resource, the resource which gives our planet its unique color.”

–  Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, on the occasion of World Water Day 2021

World Water Day, held on the 22nd of March each year consecutively since 1993, is a UN Observance day. The day is dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of freshwater and upholding the management of freshwater sustainably. The theme of World Water Day 2021 is declared focusing on the immense value of water, “Valuing Water”. The theme always follows in relevance to WASH; Water, Sanitation And Hygiene. In accordance with the targets of Sustainable Development Goals 6, “Clean Water and Sanitation for all”, this day ensures the necessity of water for life.

Each year, the WWDR, World Water Development Report is released by UN-Water providing a comprehensive assessment of the world’s freshwater resources on this day. The WWDR closely appraises the increasing water problems throughout the world. Being a non-substitutable resource, water is an indispensable part in day to day life. Water carries an infinite number of values as the foundation of our existence. As a finite natural resource, the price of water cannot be determined. The 2021 UN-Water’s flagship report, WWDR expresses the methodologies and approaches to the valuation of water. Valuing water through various perspectives as in mainly drinking water, sanitation, and socio-economic activities. This year the day is celebrated as an online event.

The main purpose of World Water Day is to inspire people regarding the crucial service of water addressing the current water-related issues so as to achieve the sustainable usage of water. These issues include water scarcity, water pollution, lack of water sanitation, inadequate water supply worldwide, and climate change.

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Earth is called the water planet. Water is nearly 71 percent of the Earth, the oceans covering 96.5 percent of all planet’s water. Only 3.5 percent of the Earth’s water is considered freshwater. But most of freshwater is unavailable as it is locked up in glaciers, polar or ice caps, atmosphere, adhering to soil; highly polluted or situating far under the surface of Earth to be extracted at an affordable cost. Only 0.5 percent of Earth’s water is available for the consumption of ecosystems and humans. It is essential to realize the fact that water that can be consumed is very much limited. Therefore, it is high time to take immediate actions regarding the unnecessary usage of water and pollution of water. Each person has a responsibility regarding the conservation of water.

Furthermore, our body itself consists of 70 percent of water. A general person can survive about 3 days without water. Water is a major constituent in the metabolism of living beings. Water has numerous tasks in the human body. It acts as a building block; a solvent, a reaction medium, a carrier, and a lubricant mainly in our bodies. A sedentary adult should drink 1.5 L water per day to regulate the functions and mechanisms of metabolism. The consumption of polluted water can cause health problems for humans. In fact, all living organisms need water for survival. From tiny cyanobacteria to enormous blue whales need water to survive. As you can clearly see, water is the basis of all life on the planet. The life we know would not exist without this resource bestowed on us by nature.

Also, water is an input material for numerous industries on a large scale. Water is consumed for almost all the processes in order to gain the output. Industrial water is used for fabricating, processing, washing, and diluting, cooling, or transporting products. Also without water, agriculture is impossible. The uses within the sector are very diverse as agriculture water is used for mainly irrigation, crop cooling, and pesticide and fertilizer applications. Almost around 70 percent of freshwater yield contributes to agriculture.

World Water Day is celebrated worldwide with various events. Today is devoted to appreciating the value of water, what it means to us and how we can conserve it. As responsible humans, the stewardship of the sustainable use of water is in our hands meeting our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

References

01. https://www.worldwaterday.org/

02. https://en.unesco.org/

Image Courtesies

01. Featured Image: https://bit.ly/3tEpTaT

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