What is World Water Day? Why is World Water Day important? Why do we celebrate World Water Day? Founded by the United Nations in 1993, National World Water Day focuses on the global importance of freshwater in today’s world.
With ever-decreasing global access to freshwater, World Water Day works to raise awareness of our critical need for freshwater. By celebrating World Water Day, not only do we remind ourselves of the importance of access to fresh water, but we also help spur action within our community to increase others’ access to this vital resource.
What is World Water Day?
The idea for World Water Day started in 1992. In that year, the United Nations held a Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thereat, the United Nations adopted a resolution which designated March 22 of each year as World Water Day. We began observing National World Water Day for the first time on March 22, 1993.
The purpose of World Water Day is first and foremost to celebrate our Earth’s water. More than this though, World Water Day works to raise awareness of the current 2.2 billion people on our planet who do not have access to safe water. In other words, the foundation of World Water Day is to tackle the worldwide water crisis that is currently occurring. Each year, a campaign topic is targeted to raise awareness about water in that specific subject.
What Happens on World Water Day?
Leading up to World Water Day on March 22, people and organizations aim to raise public awareness about the global need for access to safe water. People and organizations will host World Water Day events, spread awareness about World Water Day on social media, and participate in the global campaign sponsored by the United Nations-Water at www.worldwaterday.org.
On March 22, when World Water Day is celebrated, the United Nations releases its World Water Development Report on the same topic as that attached to World Water Day. The UN World Water Development Report will also contain policy recommendations to “provide decision-makers with tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies.”
2022 National World Water Day’s Theme
The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible.” Groundwater is an important natural resource we must work to protect, and this year’s World Water Day recognizes this fact.
Groundwater is located underneath the ground in geological formations of gravel, sand, and rocks that can hold water. According to UN Water, “groundwater is being over-used in many areas, where more water is abstracted from aquifers than is recharged by rain and snow.
Groundwater pollution is a particular problem that can take decades or even centuries to recover from. In some places, we do not know how much groundwater lies beneath our feet, which means we could be failing to harness a potentially vital water resource.”
When we celebrate World Water Day, we are not only rejoicing over the various sources of water our Earth boasts, but we are also raising awareness of the decreasing access to freshwater many areas of the world face.
So, come this March 22, 2022, it is time for us to celebrate the time-honored tradition of World Water Day. We celebrate by recognizing the importance of groundwater, and together, we can work to increase the preservation of groundwater and access to other freshwater resources.