You know all about Earth Day, but have you heard of World Water Day? Water is so important that the United Nations gave it its own International Holiday starting in 1993. The official day is March 22nd, but many countries celebrate with festivals, fundraisers, and awareness-building activities during the weekends before or after.
Water is Earth.
This Earth Day, one activist caused quite a stir when he swam in America’s most polluted waterway (in a protective suit) for half an hour to build awareness. His perspective was that, if we can put a man on the moon and split the atom, we can clean up our dirty water. We think he’s right.
Water is vital.
World Water Day brings the international community together over the singular focus of preserving the world’s freshwater resources. Each year, UN Water assigns a theme around which to rally. The designated topic for World Water Day 2015 was “Water and Sustainable Development.” To build awareness about the important role of freshwater resources, UN Water created extensive educational materials highlighting the diverse roles played by water in everyday life.
Water is universal.
The big-picture takeaway from World Water Day 2015 is simply that we need water for just about everything. From industry and energy to food and drink, an interruption in the water supply has widespread consequences. Since all the major systems of modern civilization rely on water, our only viable option is to come together and manage the Earth’s water in a sustainable way.
Water is our priority.
Far beyond just drawing attention to water-related issues for a week each year, World Water Day is the occasion during which each UN member nation sets its water-related agenda for the year. Goals are set, objectives are outlined, and funds are allocated to the preservation and sustainable management of freshwater resources around the world.
Water is about all of us.
Until we’ve found water on another planet, we’ve only got one Earth on which to rely. Water is the great equalizer of carbon-based life forms. We need it to live, and without it we die. As a global community, we all share in water’s bounty and suffer from its harm. So World Water Day isn’t just a day about water. It’s a day about life.